Características de lluvia y eventos extremos en los Andes Tropicales usando un radar de lluvia de Apuntamiento Vertical

Although the vertical structure of rain is relevant in aspects such as climate models (CM) and quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE), data about it is limited in the Andes. Within these aspects, extreme rainfall events are important due to their potential social impacts. Therefore, this study aims to characterize the vertical structure of rain and extreme events in the Tropical Andes using a Vertically Pointing Micro Rain Radar. For this, (i) the diurnal rainfall cycle was determined; (ii) the bright band was characterized; (iii) common characteristics of the vertical rain profile during extreme events, along with the average vertical reflectivity profiles of different development stages of a characteristic extreme event were studied. The study was performed using five years of data from a vertically pointing rain radar installed in Cuenca, Ecuador. The main results indicate that (i) rain events with high intensities are concentrated between 12:30 – 20:00 h (Local Time), during which 77 % of the total rainfall occurs; (ii) the bright band has a thickness between 200 and 400 m, and its top (melting layer) is located between 4500 and 4900 m above sea level; (iii) rainfall shows a high variability in the water column: during the convective stage reflectivity values can increase up to 94 % from the fusion layer to the ground. The results show the complexity of rainfall events in the Andean region and the need to consider these aspects into CM and QPE to improve their accuracy.