Statistical Characteristics of Raindrop Size Distributions and Parameters in Central China during the Meiyu Seasons
The rain parameters measured by the laser OTT Parsivel raindrop disdrometer (Parsivel), the two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) and DZZ5 tipping-bucket rain gauge (RG) during the Integrative Monsoon Frontal Rainfall Experiment (IMFRE) in summer 2018 are compared. The total rain amounts observed by Parsivel, 2DVD, and RG during IMFRE are 178.07 mm, 176.76 mm and 182.5 mm, while their total rainy hours are 113, 113 and 90. The mean Dm (mass-weighted mean diameter) and liquid water content values derived from Parsivel and 2DVD are 0.9 mm and 1.02 mm, and 0.247 g m-3 and 0.223 g m-3, respectively, and Parsivel is more sensitive to small raindrops (< 1 mm) than 2DVD. The raindrop spectra measured by Parsivel and 2DVD have excellent agreement for both convective rain (CR) and stratiform rain (SR) within a range of Dm from 1 to 3.5 mm. The rain samples from six Parsivel sites over the middle reaches of the Yangtze River during the 2016–2018 meiyu seasons have been collected and processed. The frequency occurrences for rain rates (RR) < 5 and > 10 mm h-1 are 83.9% and 7.4%, respectively, but they contribute 30.5% and 52.1 % of the total accumulated rainfall. Comparing the results with those over the lower reaches, the RR and total accumulated rainfall over the middle reaches are greater, especially for heavy rainfall. The rain drop size distributions (DSDs) in this study are wider and have higher number concentration than those from the lower reaches.