Effects of Different Rain Parameterizations on the Simulation of Mesoscale Orographic Precipitation

Abstract

A detailed comparison is made between the results obtained from two microphysical parameterizations capable of simulating cloud and precipitation processes in a mesoscale model. The behavior of each microphysical scheme is first investigated in the context of a mountain wave simulation. Major differences are found in raindrop sill distributions as well as in the rates associated with various microphysical processes. An assessment of the accuracy of each scheme is then obtained by comparing model predictions with observational data from well-documented orographically enhanced precipitation episodes in South Wales. The parameterization of Berry and Reinhardt does a better job of reproducing the observed dependency of the precipitation enhancement on the low-level windspeed than does Kessler's.