Extreme precipitation is an issue of worldwide concern, but its microphysics remain elusive. The convective and microphysical characteristics of extreme precipitation features (EPFs) in a monsoon coastal area (South China) are investigated mainly using 2‐year observations from a dual‐polarization radar and distrometers. The EPFs are accompanied by a broad range of convective intensity, and categorized into the “intense”, “moderate”, and “weak” convection accounting for 17.3%, 48.6% and 34.1% of the total population, respectively. The EPFs with weaker convection show weakened size sorting and less breakup of large raindrops, but a larger ratio of liquid water path to ice water path and more prominent coalescence warm‐rain process. All the three categories are dominated by the coalescence in the liquid‐phase processes, and have much more populous raindrops than the “continental” with a mean size larger than the “maritime” regime. These results improve our understanding of extreme precipitation from the microphysical perspective.

This study investigates warm‐season extreme precipitation events (EPEs) with the focus on the less‐attended weak convection (WeEPEs) using spaceborne radar observations. WeEPEs are compared to EPEs with intense convection (InEPEs), including their frequency/location, convective structures, and storm environments. WeEPEs and InEPEs both account for about 30% of the EPEs, highlighting the importance of WeEPEs. Overland WeEPEs mainly occur over key monsoon regions and maximize over windward sides of coastal mountains likely due to orographic enhancement. WeEPEs develop under conditions with deep moist profiles and strengthened low‐level onshore flows. Radar, microwave, and lightning proxies all suggest a weak updraft and limited ice contents in WeEPEs. However, vertical radar profiles of WeEPEs exceptionally increase (∼15 dBZ) downward below the melting level, indicating substantial raindrop growth and/or concentration increase through very active warm‐rain processes. This study provides useful guidelines for evaluating high‐resolution model simulations and satellite rainfall retrievals on extreme precipitation.

This study investigates climatologies of lightning and thunderstorms in China and their relationships to total rainfall and extreme (hourly) precipitation (95th percentile) using spaceborne lightning, microwave, and radar measurements. Annually, total and extreme precipitation only weakly collocate or correlate with flash density (FLD) and thunderstorm. Also, none of these variables show significant trends during 1995–2014. FLD and precipitation are generally in phase on the monthly time scale, except over southern China (SCH), where FLD leads precipitation by 2 months. Thunderstorms contribute 40–50% of total rainfall and 70–80% of extreme precipitation over lower‐elevation regions. While correlation coefficients between extreme precipitation and flash rate are decent during April–May (AM, r = 0.75), they are significantly lower in June–July–August (JJA, r = 0.55), possibly due to larger warm cloud depth and thus greater rainfall contribution by warm‐rain process during JJA. JJA thunderstorms have markedly higher radar echo tops (MAXHT30) and induce stronger microwave ice scattering than AM thunderstorms, related to larger convective available potential energy in JJA, whereas AM thunderstorms have larger precipitation area in association with stronger vertical wind shear. Conversely, AM thunderstorms show markedly greater number/frequency of high flash rates than JJA thunderstorms (especially over SCH), consistent with their larger volumes of intense radar echo in the mixed‐phase region (VOL35). Compared to MAXHT30 (r = 0.38), VOL35 is far better correlated to flash rate (r = 0.88), as VOL35 represents the total amount of precipitation‐sized ice particles and/or supercooled liquid water in the mixed‐phase region essential for cloud electrification.

Using 17-yr spaceborne precipitation radar measurements, this study investigates how diurnal cycles of rainfall and convective characteristics over the South China Sea region are modulated by the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO). Generally, diurnal cycles change significantly between suppressed and active BSISO periods. Over the Philippines and Indochina, where the low-level monsoon flows impinge on coast lines, diurnal cycles of rainfall and many convective properties are enhanced during suppressed periods. During active periods, diurnal variation of convection is still significant over land but diminishes over water. Also, afternoon peaks of rainfall and MCS populations over land are obviously extended in active periods, mainly through the enhancement of stratiform precipitation. Over Borneo, where the prevailing low-level winds are parallel to coasts, diurnal cycles (both onshore and offshore) are actually stronger during active periods. Radar profiles also demonstrate a pronounced nocturnal offshore propagation of deep convection over western Borneo in active periods. During suppressed periods, coastal afternoon convection over Borneo is reduced, and peak convection occurs over the mountains until the convective suppression is overcome in the late afternoon or evening. A major portion (>70%) of the total precipitation over the Philippines and Indochina during suppressed periods falls from afternoon isolated to medium-sized systems (10 000 km(2)). However, offshore total precipitation is dominated by large precipitation systems (>10 000 km(2)) regardless of BSISO phases and regions.

This study investigates the characteristics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) as a function of MCS organizational mode over China, using long-term precipitation radar observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM). The spaceborne radar-based MCS climatology shows maximum population over low-elevation regions, marked decrease over the foothills, and minimum frequency over the Tibetan Plateau. Linear and nonlinear MCSs account for 17% and 83% of the MCSs over China, respectively. Linear MCSs have much stronger convective intensity and heavier precipitation than nonlinear MCSs, as indicated by TRMM convective proxies. Interestingly, though broad-stratiform MCSs have the weakest convection, they produce the heaviest (maximum) rain rate and the largest amount of heavy rainfall among nonlinear MCSs. Among various types of linear MCSs, bow echoes (BEs) and no-stratiform (NS) systems exhibit the strongest convective intensity, embedded lines exhibit the weakest, and convective lines with trailing/leading stratiform in between. BEs and NSs share the most vertically extended structure, strongest microwave ice scattering, and highest lightning flash rates, but NS systems have a much lower surface rain rate likely due to a drier environment. Vertical radar reflectivity profiles suggest that both ice-based and warm-rain processes play an important role in the precipitation processes of linear MCSs over China, including the most intense BE storms. In short, this study helps to better understand the convective organization, precipitation structure, and ensemble microphysical properties of MCSs over China, and potentially provides guidelines for evaluating high-resolution model simulations and satellite rainfall retrievals for monsoonal MCSs.