Using observations from the dual‐frequency precipitation radar (DPR) onboard the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) satellite, this study analyzes the microphysical structures and processes of tropical cyclone (TC) precipitation over the western North Pacific in terms of different precipitation efficiency indices (PEIs). The statistical results show that the mean mass‐weighted mean diameter of raindrops (D_m) at 2 km is 1.67 mm (1.37 mm) for convective (stratiform) precipitating clouds. Precipitating clouds with high PEI have higher liquid water path than nonliquid water path for both convective and stratiform clouds. The mean D_m of convective and stratiform precipitation increases as the PEI increases. The vertical profiles of D_m and reflectivity (Z_e) for convective and stratiform precipitating clouds in TCs differ substantially as the PEI changes. Below the melting level, there is a clear decrease (increase) in D_m and Z_e toward the surface for clouds with low (high) PEI. In general, clouds within TCs producing the most efficient precipitation are characterized by strong coalescence, not only for small droplets but also for relatively large raindrops; in contrast, the breakup of hydrometeors is the dominant process in convective and stratiform precipitating clouds with low PEI. These results will help validate and improve the hydrometeor parameterization schemes in cloud and climate models.

A knowledge of precipitation microphysics of tropical cyclones (TCs) is crucial for forecasts of the TC track and intensity using numerical weather models. Based on five years of measurements of TCs over the western North Pacific from the dual‐frequency precipitation radar and the microwave imager on board the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite, the precipitation characteristics and microphysical processes in different regions of TCs and their associations with ice scattering signals are investigated. In the region close to the TC center, the storm top height (STH) and near‐surface rain rate are high, and the hydrometeors have a high concentration and a relatively low mass‐weighted mean diameter (D_m). In the outer TC region, the distributions of the reflectivity factor (Z_e) and D_m become broader as the mean D_m increases. Z_e and D_m values generally increase below the melting layer, indicating the predominant role of collision–coalescence processes. The occurrence probability of collision–coalescence is greater than 90% when STH is less than 5 km and the polarization‐corrected temperature at 89 GHz is greater than 250 K. When the STH exceeds 5 km, the collision–coalescence process is also predominant in the eyewall region; however, the influence of the breakup process increases in the rainband regions.

Many studies have reported on the trends of precipitation in Mid-Eastern China (EC). However, the trends of convective and stratiform precipitation are still unknown. Here, we examine the trends of summer convective and stratiform precipitation in EC from 2002 to 2012 on the basis of the TRMM observations. Results revealed that the rain frequency (RF) for both convective and stratiform precipitation increased in majority regions of Southern EC (SEC), but decreased in Northwest part of Northern EC (NEC). The decreasing rate of RF for stratiform precipitation in NEC is twice as much as that for convective precipitation, while the increase of convective precipitation in SEC is more evident than stratiform precipitation. The rain rate (RR) exhibited a decreasing trend in most portions of EC for both convective and stratiform precipitation. In SEC, neither PW nor WVT has good ability in explaining the precipitation variability. However, in NEC, PW is closely correlated to convective RF and WVT is more closely related to stratiform RF.

The northeastern China cold vortex (NCCV) is the main weather system affecting Northeast China. Based on the precipitation products from the dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) onboard the Global Precipitation Measurement core observatory (GPM) satellite, the precipitation structures and microphysical properties for different rain types in 6432 NCCVs from 2014 to 2019 were studied using dynamic composite analysis. Our results show that the precipitation in NCCVs is dominated by stratiform precipitation. Regions with high stratiform and convective precipitation frequency have a comma shape. The growth mechanism of precipitation particles changes at ~4 km in altitude, the lower particles grow through collision (more pronounced in convective precipitation), and the upper hydrometeors grow through the Bergeron process. Additionally, the precipitation structures and microphysical properties exhibit great regional variations in NCCVs. The rainfall for all rain types is the strongest in the southeast region within an NCCV, mainly characterized by higher near-surface droplet concentration, while precipitation events occur more frequently in the southeast region for all rain types. There are active rimming growth processes above the melting layer for convective precipitation in the western region of an NCCV. In the southeast region of an NCCV, the collision growth of droplets in both types of precipitation is the most obvious.

The statistical characteristics of precipitation microphysics in lightning clouds are not yet fully understood, as a result of the limitations of traditional observational methods. Using the latest observations from the dual-frequency radar and microwave imager onboard the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) and ground-based lightning observations, the precipitation microphysics of precipitation features with and without lightning (LPFs and NLPFs) was investigated across four typical regions of China in summer during the time period of 2014–2021. The statistical results show that the LPFs are characterized by smaller concentration and larger mass-weighted mean diameter (D_m) for rain and ice hydrometeors than those of NLPFs. Below the melting layer, the radar reflectivity (Z_e) for both the LPFs and NLPFs generally decreases toward the surface, indicating the evaporation or strong break-up of rain hydrometeors. Above the melting layer, the Z_e values mainly increase as the altitudes decrease for both LPFs and NLPFs, indicating the rimming, aggregation, or deposition processes. However, the change in slope is much smaller for the LPFs than for the NLPFs, which suggests a more uniform distribution of large ice hydrometeors at high altitudes, probably as a result of the stronger updrafts within the LPFs. The microphysical structures of the LPFs show great regional differences among the four regions of China, which is characterized by the low concentration of large-sized rain hydrometeors over Northeast China, and a high concentration of small-sized rain hydrometeors near the surface over the Yangtze-Huaihe River basin.