Search Menu
DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Search Scholarly Publications

Title: Numerical simulation and analysis of the April 2013 Chicago floods

Abstract

The weather event associated to record Chicago floods on April 2013 is investigated by using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Observations at Argonne National Laboratory and multi-sensor (weather radar and rain gauge) precipitation data from the National Weather Service were employed to evaluate the model’s performance. The WRF model captured the synoptic-scale atmospheric features well, but the simulated 24-h accumulated precipitation and short-period temporal evolution of precipitation over the heavy-rain region were less successful. To investigate the potential reasons for the model bias, four supplementary sensitivity experiments using various microphysics schemes and cumulus parameterizations were designed. Of the five tested parameterizations, the WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6) graupel scheme and Kain-Fritsch (KF) cumulus parameterization outperformed the others, such as Grell-Dévényi (GD) cumulus parameterization, which underestimated the precipitation by 30–50% on a regional-average scale. Morrison microphysics and KF outperformed the others for the spatial patterns of 24-h accumulated precipitation. The spatial correlation between observation and Morrison-KF was 0.45, higher than those for other simulations. All of the simulations underestimated the precipitation over northeastern Illinois (especially at Argonne) during 0400–0800 UTC 18 April because of weak ascending motion or small moisture. In conclusion, all of the simulations except WSM6-GD also underestimatedmore » the precipitation during 1200–1600 UTC 18 April because of weak southerly flow.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory; USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1342902
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1248432
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Hydrology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 531; Journal Issue: P2; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-1694
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; atmospheric rivers; Chicago; floods; radar; WRF

Citation Formats

Campos, Edwin, and Wang, Jiali. Numerical simulation and analysis of the April 2013 Chicago floods. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.004.
Copy to clipboard
Campos, Edwin, & Wang, Jiali. Numerical simulation and analysis of the April 2013 Chicago floods. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.004
Copy to clipboard
Campos, Edwin, and Wang, Jiali. Tue . "Numerical simulation and analysis of the April 2013 Chicago floods". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.004. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1342902.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1342902,
title = {Numerical simulation and analysis of the April 2013 Chicago floods},
author = {Campos, Edwin and Wang, Jiali},
abstractNote = {The weather event associated to record Chicago floods on April 2013 is investigated by using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Observations at Argonne National Laboratory and multi-sensor (weather radar and rain gauge) precipitation data from the National Weather Service were employed to evaluate the model’s performance. The WRF model captured the synoptic-scale atmospheric features well, but the simulated 24-h accumulated precipitation and short-period temporal evolution of precipitation over the heavy-rain region were less successful. To investigate the potential reasons for the model bias, four supplementary sensitivity experiments using various microphysics schemes and cumulus parameterizations were designed. Of the five tested parameterizations, the WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6) graupel scheme and Kain-Fritsch (KF) cumulus parameterization outperformed the others, such as Grell-Dévényi (GD) cumulus parameterization, which underestimated the precipitation by 30–50% on a regional-average scale. Morrison microphysics and KF outperformed the others for the spatial patterns of 24-h accumulated precipitation. The spatial correlation between observation and Morrison-KF was 0.45, higher than those for other simulations. All of the simulations underestimated the precipitation over northeastern Illinois (especially at Argonne) during 0400–0800 UTC 18 April because of weak ascending motion or small moisture. In conclusion, all of the simulations except WSM6-GD also underestimated the precipitation during 1200–1600 UTC 18 April because of weak southerly flow.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.004},
journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
number = P2,
volume = 531,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.004
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referenced in this record:

The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system
journal, April 2011

  • Dee, D. P.; Uppala, S. M.; Simmons, A. J.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 137, Issue 656
  • DOI: 10.1002/qj.828

Interactions between Cloud Microphysics and Cumulus Convection in a General Circulation Model
journal, November 2002

Comparison of Impacts of WRF Dynamic Core, Physics Package, and Initial Conditions on Warm Season Rainfall Forecasts
journal, September 2006

  • Gallus, William A.; Bresch, James F.
  • Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 134, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1175/MWR3198.1

Projected changes of extreme weather events in the eastern United States based on a high resolution climate modeling system
journal, November 2012

The Terminal Velocity of fall for Water Droplets in Stagnant air
journal, August 1949

A Revised Approach to Ice Microphysical Processes for the Bulk Parameterization of Clouds and Precipitation
journal, January 2004

Evaluation of the WRF Double-Moment 6-Class Microphysics Scheme for Precipitating Convection
journal, January 2010

  • Hong, Song-You; Lim, Kyo-Sun Sunny; Lee, Yong-Hee
  • Advances in Meteorology, Vol. 2010
  • DOI: 10.1155/2010/707253

Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models
journal, January 2008

  • Iacono, Michael J.; Delamere, Jennifer S.; Mlawer, Eli J.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, Issue D13
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008JD009944

Experimental Quantification of the Sampling Uncertainty Associated with Measurements from PARSIVEL Disdrometers
journal, June 2011

  • Jaffrain, Joël; Berne, Alexis
  • Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 12, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1175/2010JHM1244.1

Value of Real-Time Vegetation Fraction to Forecasts of Severe Convection in High-Resolution Models
journal, February 2009

  • James, Kenneth A.; Stensrud, David J.; Yussouf, Nusrat
  • Weather and Forecasting, Vol. 24, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1175/2008WAF2007097.1

The Kain–Fritsch Convective Parameterization: An Update
journal, January 2004

A One-Dimensional Entraining/Detraining Plume Model and Its Application in Convective Parameterization
journal, December 1990

Analysis of the 26 July 2005 heavy rain event over Mumbai, India using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model
journal, October 2008

  • Kumar, Anil; Dudhia, J.; Rotunno, R.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 134, Issue 636
  • DOI: 10.1002/qj.325

Long-Term Trends in Extreme Precipitation Events over the Conterminous United States and Canada
journal, August 1999

Temporal variations of extreme precipitation events in the United States: 1895-2000: TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN THE U.S.
journal, September 2003

  • Kunkel, Kenneth E.; Easterling, David R.; Redmond, Kelly
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 30, Issue 17
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003GL018052

Monitoring and Understanding Trends in Extreme Storms: State of Knowledge
journal, April 2013

  • Kunkel, Kenneth E.; Karl, Thomas R.; Brooks, Harold
  • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 94, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00262.1

The nexus between atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation across Europe: ARS AND EXTREME EUROPEAN PRECIPITATION
journal, June 2013

  • Lavers, David A.; Villarini, Gabriele
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 40, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1002/grl.50636

Atmospheric Rivers and Flooding over the Central United States
journal, October 2013

High-Resolution Simulations of Wintertime Precipitation in the Colorado Headwaters Region: Sensitivity to Physics Parameterizations
journal, November 2011

  • Liu, Changhai; Ikeda, Kyoko; Thompson, Gregory
  • Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 139, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1175/MWR-D-11-00009.1

Spectral nudging to eliminate the effects of domain position and geometry in regional climate model simulations: SPECTRAL NUDGING IN REGIONAL MODELS
journal, July 2004

  • Miguez-Macho, Gonzalo; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.; Robock, Alan
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 109, Issue D13
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003JD004495

Improvement of the K-profile Model for the Planetary Boundary Layer based on Large Eddy Simulation Data
journal, May 2003

Sensitivity of WRF cloud microphysics to simulations of a severe thunderstorm event over Southeast India
journal, January 2010

Explicit Forecasts of Winter Precipitation Using an Improved Bulk Microphysics Scheme. Part I: Description and Sensitivity Analysis
journal, February 2004

Explicit Forecasts of Winter Precipitation Using an Improved Bulk Microphysics Scheme. Part II: Implementation of a New Snow Parameterization
journal, December 2008

  • Thompson, Gregory; Field, Paul R.; Rasmussen, Roy M.
  • Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 136, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1175/2008MWR2387.1

Effects of spatial resolution in the simulation of daily and subdaily precipitation in the southwestern US: PRECIPITATION IN THE SW UNITED STATES
journal, July 2013

  • Tripathi, Om P.; Dominguez, Francina
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 118, Issue 14
  • DOI: 10.1002/jgrd.50590

Assessment of Dynamical Downscaling in Near-Surface Fields with Different Spectral Nudging Approaches Using the Nested Regional Climate Model (NRCM)
journal, July 2013

  • Wang, Jiali; Kotamarthi, Veerabhadra R.
  • Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Vol. 52, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0302.1

CMIP5 Climate Model Analyses: Climate Extremes in the United States
journal, April 2014

  • Wuebbles, Donald; Meehl, Gerald; Hayhoe, Katharine
  • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 95, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00172.1

NCEP FNL Operational Model Global Tropospheric Analyses, continuing from July 1999
dataset, January 2000

  • Commerce, National Centers For Environmental Prediction/National Weather Service/NOAA/U. S. Department Of
  • UCAR/NCAR - Research Data Archive
  • DOI: 10.5065/d6m043c6
    Sort by:
    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Works referencing / citing this record:

      Sort by:
      [ × clear filter / sort ]

      Similar Records in DOE PAGES and OSTI.GOV collections: