Projection of Future Enhancement of Heavy Rainfalls Associated with Typhoon Hagibis (2019) Using a Regional 1-km-mesh Atmosphere-Ocean Coupled Model

Abstract

Torrential rain associated with Typhoon Hagibis (2019) caused extensive destruction across Japan. To project future changes of the record-breaking rainfall, numerical experiments using a regional 1-km-mesh three-dimensional atmosphere–ocean coupled model were conducted in current (CNTL) and pseudo-global warming (PGW) climates. The water vapor mixing ratio in the lower troposphere increased by 23% in response to a 3.34 K increase in sea surface temperature (SST) in the PGW climate. The abundant moisture supply by the westward winds of the typhoon caused strong precipitation from its rainbands for a long period, resulting in 90% increase in total precipitation in eastern Japan before landfall. However, the strong PGW typhoon caused high SST-cooling. Mean precipitation in eastern Japan during the typhoon passage increased by 22% when the SST-cooling east of Kanto was strengthened from 0.11 K to 0.72 K from the CNTL to PGW simulations; the increase was above 29% when the SST-cooling was lowered.

Since Typhoon Hagibis accelerated as it traveled northward, the magnitude of the SST-cooling and weakening of the typhoon were suppressed. Consequently, strong precipitation in the inner-core of the strong PGW typhoon caused 30% increase in precipitation in the areas on the Pacific side of northern Japan.