A Suggestion for Data Assimilation Method of Hydrometeor Types Estimated from the Polarimetric Radar Observation

It is important for 0-6 hour nowcasting to provide for a high-quality initial condition in a meso-scale atmospheric model by a data assimilation of several observation data. The polarimetric radar data is expected to be assimilated into the forecast model, because the radar has a possibility of measurements of the types, the shapes, and the size distributions of hydrometeors. In this paper, an impact on rainfall prediction of the data assimilation of hydrometeor types (i.e. raindrop, graupel, snowflake, etc.) is evaluated. The observed information of hydrometeor types is estimated using the fuzzy logic algorism. As an implementation, the cloud-resolving nonhydrostatic atmospheric model, CReSS, which has detail microphysical processes, is employed as a forecast model. The local ensemble transform Kalman filter, LETKF, is used as a data assimilation method, which uses an ensemble of short-term forecasts to estimate the flowdependent background error covariance required in data assimilation. A heavy rainfall event occurred in Okinawa in 2008 is chosen as an application. As a result, the rainfall prediction accuracy in the assimilation case of both hydrometeor types and the Doppler velocity and the radar echo is improved by a comparison of the no assimilation case. The effects on rainfall prediction of the assimilation of hydrometeor types appear in longer prediction lead time compared with the effects of the assimilation of radar echo only.