Subgrid Precipitation Properties of Mesoscale Atmospheric Systems Represented by MODIS Cloud Regimes

The distribution of mesoscale precipitation exhibits diverse patterns: precipitation can be intense but sporadic, or it can be light but widespread. This range of behaviors is a reflection of the different weather systems in the global atmosphere. Using MODIS global cloud regimes as proxies for different atmospheric systems, this study investigates the subgrid precipitation properties within these systems. Taking advantage of the high resolution of Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG; GPM is the Global Precipitation Measurement mission), precipitation values at 0.18 are composited with each cloud regime at 18 grid cells to characterize the regime’s spatial subgrid precipitation properties. The results reveal the diversity of the subgrid precipitation behavior of the atmospheric systems. Organized convection is associated with the highest grid-mean precipitation rates and precipitating fraction, although on average only half the grid is precipitating and there is substantial variability between different occurrences. Summer extratropical storms have the next highest precipitation, driven mainly by moderate precipitation rates over large areas. These systems produce more precipitation than isolated convective systems, for which the lower precipitating fractions balance out the high intensities. Most systems produce heavier precipitation in the afternoon than in the morning. The grid-mean precipitation rate is also found to scale with the fraction of precipitation within the grid in a faster-than-linear relationship for most systems. This study elucidates the precipitation properties within cloud regimes, thus advancing our understanding of the precipitation structures of these atmospheric systems.