Coupling effect diagnoses of quasi-stationary mesoscale vortex in Guangxi rainstorm process of China

Abstract

The mesoscale weather system which affected the Guangxi flash-flood-producing rainstorm of China in June 2008 is a quasi-stationary mesoscale vortex. Its genesis and development is closely related to the coupling effects of weather systems in different scales and different latitudes. On the one hand, the coupling of synoptic scale high- and low-level jets provides the environmental conditions for development of vortices and vertical circulations in the mesoscale vortex; On the other hand, the coupling of waves in mid-latitude westerlies and perturbations in low-latitude warm-moist flow under the influence of complex terrain makes the mesoscale vortex circulations strengthened. With the piecewise potential vorticity (PV) inversion method, PV anomalies in different regions are analyzed; also the vortex-vortex interactions and vortex-background flow interactions are diagnosed. Thus, the reasons why the mesoscale is quasi-stationary at first, while developing and deepening later are indicated. Under the condition of coupling effects, the vertical motions accompanied with the mesoscale vortex can be diagnosed with the PV-ω inversion system based on the analysis of quasi-balanced flow.