On the Link between Tropical Cyclones and Daily Rainfall Extremes Derived from Global Satellite Observations

• Published in: Journal of climate Vol. 29; no. 17; pp. 6127 - 6135
• Main Authors: Prat, Olivier P., Nelson, Brian R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston American Meteorological Society 01-09-2016
• Subjects: Archives & records; Cyclones; Extreme weather; Precipitation; Rainfall; Satellites; Seasons; Studies; Tropical cyclones; Wind; United States > US; East Asia
• ISSN: 0894-8755; 1520-0442
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-16-0289.1

The authors evaluate the contribution of tropical cyclones (TCs) to daily precipitation extremes over land for TC-active regions around the world. From 1998 to 2012, data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA 3B42) showed that TCs account for an average of 3.5% ± 1% of the total number of rainy days over land areas experiencing cyclonic activity regardless of the basin considered. TC days represent between 13% and 31% of daily extremes above 4 in. day−1, but can account locally for the large majority (>70%) or almost all (≈100%) of extreme rainfall even over higher-latitude areas marginally affected by cyclonic activity. Moreover, regardless of the TC basin, TC-related extremes occur preferably later in the TC season after the peak of cyclonic activity.