Evaluating the Impact of the COSMIC RO Bending Angle Data on Predicting the Heavy Precipitation Episode on 16 June 2008 during SoWMEX-IOP8

Abstract

Abstract Global positioning system (GPS) radio occultation (RO) data have been broadly used in global and regional numerical weather predictions. Assimilation with the bending angle often performs better than refractivity, which is inverted from the bending angle under spherical assumption and is sometimes associated with negative biases at the lower troposphere; however, the bending angle operator also requires a higher model top as used in global models. This study furnishes the feasibility of bending-angle assimilation in the prediction of heavy precipitation systems with a regional model. The local RO operators for simulating bending angle and refractivity are implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)–local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) framework. The impacts of assimilating RO data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) using both operators are evaluated on the prediction of a heavy precipitation episode during Southwest Monsoon Experiment intensive observing period 8 (SoWMEX-IOP8) in 2008. Results show that both the refractivity and bending angle provide a favorable condition for generating this heavy rainfall event. In comparison with the refractivity data, the advantage of assimilating the bending angle is identified in the midtroposphere for deepening of the moist layer that leads to a rainfall forecast closer to the observations.