Effects of topography and sea surface temperature anomalies on heavy rainfall induced by Typhoon Chaba in 2016

Abstract

Typhoon Chaba made landfall on the Korean Peninsula in the fall of 2016, resulting in record-breaking rainfall in southeastern Korea. In particular, the Ulsan metropolitan region experienced the most severe floods due to heavy rainfall of 319 mm for just 3 h. The heavy rainfall was possibly associated with the mountainous southeastern Korea topography and the warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the East China Sea. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to investigate the effects of topography and SST anomalies through high-resolution numerical experiments. Simulation using original topography showed more rainfall on the windward and less on the leeward slope compared to the experiment with reduced topography around Ulsan. The moist flow in the typhoon was raised by orographic uplift, enhancing precipitation on the windward side and summits of the mountains. The orographically induced updraft extended to the mid-troposphere and contributed to the upward vertical moisture flux associated with rainfall. Therefore, the mountainous topography around Ulsan affected the local change in rainfall induced by the simulated typhoon. In addition, SST on the track of the typhoon controlled storm intensity and caused extreme precipitation changes. The experiment using the original SST in the East China Sea simulated less decayed typhoons and produced more precipitation compared to the experiment wherein the positive SST anomaly in the East China Sea was removed. The warm SST anomaly hindered the weakening of the typhoon moving northward to the mid-latitudes. At landfall, the stronger typhoon contained more water vapor, transported more moisture inland, and generated increased precipitation.