Rainfall distribution in the Andes of southern Ecuador derived from blending weather radar data and meteorological field observations

Abstract

The Andes of Ecuador show an extreme heterogeneity of spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. The existing operational network of the national weather service is not capable of reproducing these complex patterns. By using a cost-efficient rain radar and a network of high-resolution rain gauges, the real complexity of the rainfall distribution and the meteorological processes of rainfall formation can be assessed. A blending method encompassing geostatistical tools allows to derive a comprehensive rainfall climatology for the study area. Precipitation is predominantly of the advective type, associated with humid air masses from the Amazon basin transported by the tropical easterlies. The typical form is light to heavy drizzle with long duration but lower rain rates. However, in contrast to former knowledge there is no single mechanism of rain formation for any given place. Several processes interact like small and large-scale convective cloud systems, local and regional valley/mountain breeze systems and terrain-lines of preferred moisture transport interact on various time scale. This leads to complex patterns of rainfall in space and time. Several types of characteristic weather situations are revealed by the study. They are characterized by specific combinations of local and regional atmospheric processes and interactions with the topographical configuration. They are modified by mesoscale and continental circulation patterns as the annual shift of pressure cells, the east Andean low-level Jet and katabatic flows.