An Explicit Simulation of Tropical Cyclones with a Triply Nested Movable Mesh Primitive Equation Model: TCM3. Part II: Model Refinements and Sensitivity to Cloud Microphysics Parameterization*

Abstract

Abstract It has been long known that cloud microphysics can have a significant impact on the simulations of precipitation; however, there have been few studies so far that have investigated the effect of cloud microphysics on tropical cyclones. In the most advanced simulation of tropical cyclones by numerical models, the use of explicit cloud microphysics becomes more and more attractive with cumulus parameterization bypassed at very high resolutions. In this study, the sensitivity of the simulated tropical cyclone structure and intensity to the choice and details of cloud microphysics parameterization is investigated using the triply nested movable mesh tropical cyclone model TCM3 described in Part I but with several refinements. Three different cloud microphysics parameterization schemes are tested, including the warm-rain-only cloud microphysics scheme (WMRN) and two mixed-ice-phase cloud microphysics schemes, one of which has three ice species (cloud ice–snow–graupel; CTRL) while the other has hail in...