The present study explores the cloud microphysics (MPs) impact on the simulation of two convective rainfall events (CREs) over the complex topography of Andes mountains, using the Weather Research and Forecasting- Advanced Research (WRF-ARW) model. The events occurred on December 29 2015 (CRE1) and January 7 2016 (CRE2). Six microphysical parameterizations (MPPs) (Thompson, WSM6, Morrison, Goddard, Milbrandt and Lin) were tested, which had been previously applied in complex orography areas. The one-way nesting technique was applied to four domains, with horizontal resolutions of 18, 6, and 3 km for the outer ones, in which cumulus and MP parameterizations were applied, while for the innermost domain, with a resolution of 0.75 km, only MP parameterization was used. It was integrated for 36 h with National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP Final Operational Global Analysis (NFL) i...

El presente estudio explora el impacto del método de expresar los procesos microfísicos en las nubes en la simulación numérica de eventos de lluvia convectiva sobre los Andes centrales, utilizando el modelo numérico de Investigación y Pronóstico del Tiempo (WRF, por sus siglas en inglés). Se probaron seis métodos de parametrización de los procesos microfísicos, a partir de la anidación sucesiva unidireccional de cuatro dominios (18, 6, 3 y 0.75 km de resolución). Las parametrizaciones de otros procesos físicos se mantuvieron invariables en los diferentes experimentos. Se integró durante 36 h con los datos globales del Centro Nacional de Predicción Ambiental de Estados Unidos (NCEP, por sus siglas en inglés) con condiciones iniciales de las 07:00, hora local (GMT-5). Las simulaciones se verificaron utilizando datos de satélite GOES, información del radar perfilador de n...

Droughts in the Amazon region are expected to increase in frequency and intensity, which would negatively affect the tropical forest, leading to a positive climate–forest feedback loop that could potentially result in the collapse of this ecosystem. In this study, extreme drought conditions were identified in the Peruvian Amazon region for the period 2000–2024 using the maximum cumulative water deficit (MCWD) index, which is related to the tropical forest water stress. The ERA5, CHIRPS, and MSWEP datasets were used to estimate precipitation, while ERA5 data were used for evapotranspiration. This study focuses on the specificities of droughts and the differences across study areas. Six study areas were specified, three of them located in the Loreto department (northern Peruvian Amazon), another centered in Moyobamba city (western Peruvian Amazon), another in Ucayali, in the central Pe...

The present study explores the cloud microphysics (MPs) impact on the simulation of two convective rainfall events (CREs) over the complex topography of Andes mountains, using the Weather Research and Forecasting- Advanced Research (WRF-ARW) model. The events occurred on December 29 2015 (CRE1) and January 7 2016 (CRE2). Six microphysical parameterizations (MPPs) (Thompson, WSM6, Morrison, Goddard, Milbrandt and Lin) were tested, which had been previously applied in complex orography areas. The one-way nesting technique was applied to four domains, with horizontal resolutions of 18, 6, and 3 km for the outer ones, in which cumulus and MP parameterizations were applied, while for the innermost domain, with a resolution of 0.75 km, only MP parameterization was used. It was integrated for 36 h with National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP Final Operational Global Analysis (NFL) i...

In the present study, five-year of precipitation features (PFs) datasets, based on Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), are used to investigate the global and regional characteristics of extreme rainfall events (EREs). The EREs are defined based on the PFs area, depth (maximum height of radar reflectivity), and the rain rate and called them largest, deepest, and intense EREs, respectively.

A sensitivity study of the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting regional model (WRF, version 3.7) to the use of different microphysics, cumulus, and boundary layer parameterizations for short- and medium-term precipitation forecast is conducted in the Central Andes of Peru. Lin-Purdué, Thompson, and Morrison microphysics schemes were tested, as well as the Grell–Freitas, Grell 3d, and Betts–Miller–Janjic cumulus parameterizations. The tested boundary layer schemes were the Yonsei University and Mellor–Yamada–Janjic. A control configuration was defined, using the Thompson, Grell–Freitas, and Yonsei University schemes, and a set of numerical experiments is made, using different combinations of parameterizations. Data from 19 local meteorological stations and regional and global gridded were used for verification. It was concluded that all the configurations over...

Direct sun measurements with a CIMEL sunphotometer belonging to the AERONET network have been performed in the Huancayo Observatory, Peru, from March 2015 to August 2017, two and a half years, providing for the first time information about aerosols in the specific area. The prevalence of background conditions in the measurement site has been determined for the period of study. These conditions, which constitute more than 80% of cases, are occasionally altered, mainly by high aerosols loading, as a consequence of biomass-burning events. Biomass-burning periods cover every year from mid-July to mid-October. The identification of these periods has been possible through the classification of aerosols in 6 subtypes. The month with the maximum AOD monthly average is September, and in 2016, the absolute maximum value of 0.91 was registered. The mean AOD value for the study period is 0.10 ±0.07...

The main objective of the research is to evaluate the response of the WRF model to the domains and resolutions that are used in complex orographic conditions like the central Andes of Peru for the forecast of short- and medium-term rainfall. To do this, the model was configured with four domains and the verifications were made using data from meteorological stations located within the study area and TRMM data. Experiments were conducted for nine 10-day periods of rainy days, five cases of extreme rainfall, and one event with hail fall on the region. In general, the model overestimates precipitation, but, in the five cases of extreme rainfall, and in the case of the hailstorm, underestimation was observed, so it is not accurate to assert in an absolute way that WRF overestimates precipitation in the study region. It was observed that the 3-km domain simulate effectively the accumulated ra...

In the present study, five-year of precipitation features (PFs) datasets, based on Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), are used to investigate the global and regional characteristics of extreme rainfall events (EREs). The EREs are defined based on the PFs area, depth (maximum height of radar reflectivity), and the rain rate and called them largest, deepest, and intense EREs, respectively. The EREs are divided into top 10%, 1%, 0.1%, and 0.01% based on their frequency of occurrences. It is observed that occurrences of EREs belonging to less than top 0.01% EREs follow the tropical rainfall climatology over the tropics based on all the parameters. Subtropical oceanic areas consist of a higher frequency of largest EREs, whereas tropical land areas consist of the higher number of deepest EREs. The most intense EREs (top 0.01%) are uniformly distributed over tropical areas and subtropical ...

Las precipitaciones convectivas asociadas a tormentas ocurren frecuentemente en los Andes Centrales del Perú. Para estudiar estos eventos se determinaron estimadores estadísticos de la reflectividad tri-dimensional, la intensidad de lluvia y parámetros microfísicos usando la información de radares abordo en los satélites del TRMM y el núcleo GPM. Como resultado se encontró que en las regiones de los Andes ocurren sistemas de nubes más profundas que en la región de transición Amazonia-Andes. De tal manera la diferencia del promedio vertical de la reflectividad presenta valores de alrededor de 5 dBZ entre ambas regiones. El ciclo diurno de la lluvia también es diferente, ya que llueve preferentemente en los intervalos 13-23 horas local y 18-06 hora local respectivamente. Los porcentajes de ocurrencia de precipitación convectiva y estratiforme en las áreas de los Andes son 30%...

A sensitivity study of the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting regional model (WRF, version 3.7) to the use of different microphysics, cumulus, and boundary layer parameterizations for short- and medium-term precipitation forecast is conducted in the Central Andes of Peru. Lin-Purdué, Thompson, and Morrison microphysics schemes were tested, as well as the Grell–Freitas, Grell 3d, and Betts–Miller–Janjic cumulus parameterizations. The tested boundary layer schemes were the Yonsei University and Mellor–Yamada–Janjic. A control configuration was defined, using the Thompson, Grell–Freitas, and Yonsei University schemes, and a set of numerical experiments is made, using different combinations of parameterizations. Data from 19 local meteorological stations and regional and global gridded were used for verification. It was concluded that all the configurations over...

In the Central Andes of Peru, convective and stratiform rainfall occurs, frequently associated with convective storms. The raindrop size distributions (RSD), measured by a Parsivel-2 optical disdrometer, were characterized by the variation of their normalized parameters. The RSD dataset includes measurements corresponding to 18 months between 2017 and 2019. As a result, it was found that the mass-weighted mean diameter Dm and the Nw parameter present respectively high and low values, in the interval of 15–20 LST (local standard time), wherein deeper and more active clouds appear. The events including convective rainfall contribute 67.5% of the accumulated total, wherein 92% corresponds to the 15–20 LST interval. It is concluded that the spectral variability of the RSD is strongly controlled by the cloudiness configuration field developing over the west (convection over highlands) and...

Direct sun measurements with a CIMEL sunphotometer belonging to the AERONET network have been performed in the Huancayo Observatory, Peru, from March 2015 to August 2017, two and a half years, providing for the first time information about aerosols in the specific area. The prevalence of background conditions in the measurement site has been determined for the period of study. These conditions, which constitute more than 80% of cases, are occasionally altered, mainly by high aerosols loading, as a consequence of biomass-burning events. Biomass-burning periods cover every year from mid-July to mid-October. The identification of these periods has been possible through the classification of aerosols in 6 subtypes. The month with the maximum AOD monthly average is September, and in 2016, the absolute maximum value of 0.91 was registered. The mean AOD value for the study period is 0.10 ± 0.0...

Los aerosoles en la atmósfera juegan un papel importante en la transferencia de radiación solar, ya que, dependiendo del tipo, pueden reflejar o dispersar dicha radiación. Cabe resaltar también que algunos aerosoles son nocivos para la salud humana. En el Observatorio de Huancayo se vienen realizando mediciones de aerosoles con un fotómetro solar perteneciente a la red AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) de la NASA. En este estudio se analizaron los datos desde marzo de 2015 hasta agosto de 2017, con el objetivo de evaluar los tipos de aerosoles y las regiones fuentes de los mismos. Se determinó la prevalencia de condiciones de fondo durante el período analizado. Estas condiciones, que constituyen más del 80 % de los casos, se alteran ocasionalmente debido a altas concentraciones de aerosoles generadas por la quema de biomasa que tienen lugar, no sólo en el Perú, sino también, e...

The diurnal cycle of total hydrometeor availability and its associated patterns of atmospheric circulation is studied over a connected Andes–Amazon (A–A) system in the central region of Peru during the summer season. Surface precipitation depends on the amount of hydrometeors that occur in the atmosphere and its atmospheric dynamics. Hydrometeors and the precipitation efficiency index were estimated using radar of the core satellite of the GPM system (N-GPM) for the period 2014–2022. The atmospheric dynamics were analyzed using the regional Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. According to the results, the Andes mountain range produces precipitation at a surface level more efficiently during the afternoon and early evening hours (12–19 LT) due to the convergence of the thermal mesoscale circulations transporting moisture fluxes from the east and west. Both generate conve...

This dataset includes data obtained at the Atmospheric Microphysics and Radiation Laboratory (LAMAR) of the Huancayo Observatory (12.04° S, 75.32° W, 3313 m ASL). Two Parsivel2 and two tipping bucket rain gauges are used in this dataset which are operating together since 2018. Data is given in NetCDF format, including two types of files, one NetCDF for precipitation totals and another which contains Parsivel2 data. This data set was collected in the complex topography conditions of the tropical Andes, and its potential use is to study the microphysics of orographic rainfall, atmospheric models and rainfall estimation algorithms.

The study evaluated the sensitivity of the precipitation forecast in the central Andes of Peru of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to change the planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes. In that region is located the Mantaro basin, which is one of the most important in the region. Here, the rainfall is very important to the agriculture and to the reserves of drinking water. The simulations were carried out with ten PBL schemes for 19 days in January, February, and March, between 2009 and 2012. Based on the statistical analysis (model vs. observation), the more efficient schemes were determined and analyses of the vertical profiles of some variables are shown. As a result, the schemes that most helped the model in rainfall forecasting were MYNN3 (general and north sector of the basin), Bou-Lac (central sector) and Bretherton-Park (southern sector). The model generally overestima...

We acknowledge financial support from the International Foundation for Science, Sweden, Concejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia CONCYTEC, Peru, and the Wellcome Trust, U.K

The aim of the present study is to analyze the triggering mechanisms of three thunderstorms (TSs) associated with severe rainfall, hail and lightening in the tropical central Andes of Peru, specifically above the Huancayo observatory (12.04º S, 75.32º W, 3313 m a.s.l.) located in the Mantaro valley during the spring-summer season (2015–2016). For this purpose, we used a set of in-situ pluviometric observations, satellite remote sensing data, the Compact Meteorological Ka-Band Cloud Radar (MIRA-35C), the Boundary Layer Tropospheric Radar and downscaling model simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model (resolutions: 18 km, 6 km and 2 km), and the Advance Regional Prediction System (ARPS) (resolution: 0.5 km) models in order to analyze the dynamic of the atmosphere in the synoptic, meso and local scales processes that control the occurrence of the three TS events....

Although climatologically dry, the western slopes of the southern Andes of Peru (WSA) can experience precipitation extremes (PEs) during the summer (December–February) resulting in great economic and human losses. Generally, WSA has a positive upslope gradient in precipitation, meaning more rain falls at higher elevations, but observations have shown this gradient can become negative with higher rainfall near the coastal cities. In this study we analyse 2000–2019 regional atmospheric patterns associated with different upslope precipitation gradients and PEs in WSA using principal component analysis methods and surface station observations. Results show important changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns during the occurrence of PE events. A prevailing pattern of negative southerly wind anomalies and regional warming of the southeastern Pacific Ocean leads to significant increas...