Study on Cloud Characteristics in Western Liaoning, China Based on Millimeter-Wave Cloud Radar

Based on the millimeter-wave cloud radar detection data from the western region of Liaoning Province, China (hereinafter referred to as western Liaoning) in 2020, the vertical structure characteristics of clouds were studied. The analysis results show that: (1) The occurrence frequency of clouds is 25.50%, while single-layer clouds occurrence frequency is 19.45% accounted for the largest proportion. The diurnal variation of occurrence rates differs across seasons. High clouds have the highest occurrence frequency, accounting for 40.03% of all clouds. (2) The average rainfall intensity of cloud precipitation throughout the year is 3.1 mm/h, and the precipitation mainly originates from single-layer and double-layer clouds. The rainfall intensity weakens as the number of cloud layers increases, and the precipitation of multi-layer clouds is mainly produced by low-layer clouds. (3) The average thickness of the cloud interlayer for precipitating clouds is 1.4 km, with 82.1% of cloud interlayer thicknesses being less than 2 km. The average thickness of the cloud interlayer for non-precipitating clouds is 1.84 km, with 70.8% of cloud interlayer thicknesses being less than 2 km. The cloud interlayer thickness generally decreases with the increase in the number of cloud layers.