Retrospective sub-seasonal forecasts of extreme precipitation events in the Arabian Peninsula using convective-permitting modeling

Christoforus Bayu Risanto, Hsin-I. Chang, Thang Luong, Hari Prasad Dasari, Raju Attada, Christopher L. Castro, Ibrahim Hoteit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work demonstrates the potential of extreme cool-season precipitation forecasts in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) at sub-seasonal time scales, identifies regions and periods of forecast opportunity, and investigates the predictability of synoptic-scale forcing at sub-seasonal time scales. To this end, we simulate 18 extreme precipitation events using the convective-permitting Weather Research and Forecasting (CP-WRF) model with lateral boundary forcing from the European Centre of Medium-range Weather Forecasts sub-seasonal to seasonal reforecasts (ECMWF S2S reforecasts). The simulations are initiated at one-, two-, and three-week lead times. At all lead times, the CP-WRF improves the mean accumulated precipitation in the extratropical synoptic regimes over the west coastal and central AP and the central Red Sea compared to ECMWF S2S reforecasts as evaluated against the Global Precipitation Measurement Final (GPMF) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology reanalysis (KAUST-RA) precipitation products. Based on categorical statistics with a threshold of 20 mm accumulated precipitation over 7 days, the CP-WRF skillfully forecasts the precipitation over Jeddah, the west coast of AP, and the central Red Sea up to three-week lead time. The relative operating characteristic curve reconfirmed the high forecast skill of the CP-WRF, with an area under the curve above 0.5 in most of the events at all lead times. Finally, the correlation coefficients between the ECMWF S2S reforecast and ECMWF reanalysis interim 500 hPa geopotential heights are higher in the events associated with an extratropical synoptic regime than in those associated with a tropical synoptic regime, regardless of lead time. Therefore, the convective-permitting model can potentially improve the accuracy of extreme winter precipitation forecasts at two-and three-week lead times over Jeddah, the west coast of AP, and the central Red Sea in the extratropical synoptic regime.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalClimate Dynamics
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 4 2022

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-06-06
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): OSR-2018-CRG7-3706.2
Acknowledgements: This work is supported by a competitive research grant from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology with sub-award agreement OSR-2018-CRG7-3706.2. This work is based on S2S data. S2S is a joint initiative of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The original S2S database is hosted at ECMWF as an extension of the TIGGE database. We thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atmospheric Science

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