Synoptic Environments and Characteristics of Convection Reaching the Tropopause over Northeast China

AbstractOvershooting convection that penetrates the lapse rate tropopause is defined globally using three-years of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) observations, and ERA-Interim reanalysis data.. Overshooting convection in the subtropics is mainly found over a few hot spot regions, including central North America and Argentina. A relatively high density of events with overshooting convection is also found over Northeast China in the summer months, where 203 events are identified during 2014-2016. These convective events extending above the tropopause occur under various synoptic conditions. The synoptic conditions during these events are categorized into three different types, namely trough, cutoff low and ridge types with a subjective analysis based on the wind and pressure fields at 500 hPa. The precipitation systems with overshooting convection ahead of a deep trough have larger sizes than other types. Those in the cutoff low environment are mostly embedded within a large precipitation system. Th...