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Interactions between convection and a moist vortex associated with an extreme rainfall event over southern West Africa

Maranan, Marlon 1; Fink, Andreas H. 1; Knippertz, Peter ORCID iD icon 1; Francis, Sabastine D.; Akpo, Aristide B.; Jegede, Gbenga; Yorke, Charles
1 Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

An intense mesoscale convective system (MCS) in the Guinea Coast region caused one of the highest ever recorded daily rainfall amounts at the Nigerian station Abakaliki on 12 June 2016 (223.5 mm). This paper provides a detailed analysis of the meso- and synoptic-scale factors leading to this event, including some so far undocumented dynamical aspects for southern West Africa. The MCS formed over the Darfur Mountains due to diurnal heating, then moved southwestward along a mid- to lower-tropospheric trough, and developed into a classical West African squall line in a highly sheared environment with pronounced midlevel dryness. Strong moisture flux convergence over Nigeria prior to the MCS passage led to extreme values in precipitable water and was caused by the formation of a local, short-lived heat low. According to the pressure tendency equation, the latter resulted from tropospheric warming due to MCS-forced subsidence as well as surface insolation in the resulting almost cloud-free atmosphere. In this extremely moist environment, the MCS strongly intensified and initiated the formation of a lower-tropospheric vortex, which resulted in a deceleration of the MCS and high rainfall accumulation at Abakaliki. ... mehr


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000094124
Veröffentlicht am 13.12.2021
Originalveröffentlichung
DOI: 10.1175/MWR-D-18-0396.1
Scopus
Zitationen: 21
Web of Science
Zitationen: 22
Dimensions
Zitationen: 24
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung Troposphärenforschung (IMKTRO)
KIT-Zentrum Klima und Umwelt (ZKU)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2019
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 0027-0644, 1520-0493
KITopen-ID: 1000094124
HGF-Programm 12.01.02 (POF III, LK 01) Proc.res.f.multisc.predictab.of weather
Erschienen in Monthly weather review
Verlag American Meteorological Society
Band 147
Seiten 2309–2328
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 17.04.2019
Schlagwörter Atmosphere; Africa; Convective storms/systems; Mesoscale processes; Rainfall
Nachgewiesen in Dimensions
Web of Science
Scopus
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