Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Localized Rainfall on 26 July 2012 Observed by Phased Array Weather Radar

Abstract

On 26 July 2012, localized rainfall from four isolated convective cells was observed by the Phased Array Weather Radar (PAWR) located in Osaka, Japan. The PAWR can observe fine three-dimensional features of precipitation every 30 seconds. In this paper, we investigated the evolution of localized isolated convective cells using the PAWR data.

The first echoes appeared at around 5 km altitude, and light rain (25 dBZ) near the ground started in 3 to 5 minutes after the first echo. Heavy rain (50 dBZ) started in 9 to 15 minutes after the first echo. The lifespan of four convective cells was from 40 to 70 minutes.

The reflectivity centroid over 25 dBZ (C25) of the first echo in developing stage descended first and then ascended within the several minutes. The behavior of the first echo motion looked complicated and it is difficult to be explained by the traditional conceptual model. In dissipation stage, the descending C25 was stopped by an alternation of precipitation core.