Influence of turbulence parameterizations on high‐resolution numerical modeling of tropical convection observed during the TC4 field campaign

In this work, deep moist convective processes, observed during the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4) over the East Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone, were modeled by means of high‐resolution numerical simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Three different turbulence parameterizations and two microphysical parameterizations are used. Their impact on the spatio‐temporal structure of predicted convective fields is compared to TC4 observations from a geostationary imager, airborne precipitation radar, and dropsondes. It is found that the large‐eddy simulation turbulence closure “upscaled” to the terra incognita range of grid spacings (i.e., 0.1–1 km) is best suited to model the deep convective processes under examination.