Abstract
AbstractHigh‐resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) simulations of heavy rainfall events are known to be strongly sensitive to the choice of the sub‐grid scale parameterisation schemes. In the African continent, studies on such a choice at the convective‐resolving scales are not numerous. By exploiting a state‐of‐the‐art NWP model, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the sensitivity of the simulation of three heavy rainfall events in Sub‐Saharan Africa to the microphysical (MP) and planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes is studied. Validating the numerical outputs against rainfall satellite estimates, ground‐based weather stations, radiosonde profiles and satellite‐derived cloud‐top temperature maps with an object‐based tool, the best‐performing setup is identified. In terms of heavy rainfall forecast location, it is found that the PBL scheme has a greater impact than the MP, which is shown to control the cloud‐top temperature simulation. Among the schemes considered, the best performances are achieved with a six‐class single‐moment microphysical scheme and a non‐local planetary boundary layer scheme which properly includes the vertical mixing by the large eddies in the atmosphere.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.