Some Synoptic-Scale Aspects of the Surface Fronts over Southern China during TAMEX

Abstract

Although the term ?Mei-Yu? is widely used to describe the early-summer rainy season of Taiwan, it is shown that during TAMEX (Taiwan Area Mesoscale Experiment), most of the surface fronts over southern China differ from the classical model of a ?Mei-Yu front? found in the earlier literature. These fronts occur before the seasonal transition in mid-June, during which the upper-level south Asian anticyclone advances northward with considerable tropospheric warming over the China plain. In contrast to Mei-Yu fronts over central China, which occur after. the seasonal transition, most of these fronts possess baroclinic characteristics.