The Curl of Q Vector: A New Diagnostic Parameter Associated with Heavy Rainfall

Abstract

As a powerful tool to diagnose vertical motion, frontogenesis, and secondary circulation, the Q vector and its divergence are widely used. However, little attention has been given to the curl of Q vector. In this paper, a new set of analyses combining the divergence of the Q vector (DQ) with the vertical component of the curl of the Q vector (VQ) is applied to a Northeastern cold vortex rainfall case. From the derivation, it was found that the expressions of the Q vectors and their divergences in saturated moist flow (DQm) differ from those of dry and unsaturated moist atmosphere (DQ), while the VQs of various background flows are exactly the same, which largely simplified the analyses. This case study showed that, compared with the DQ, not only can the DQm diagnose precipitation more effectively, but the VQ may also be indicative of precipitation (especially for heavy rainfall and strong convection) because of its direct, close relationship with ageostrophic motion. Thus, the VQ may be computed and analyzed with ease, and may serve as a useful tool for analyses of precipitation and strong convective systems.