Recently, the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Conference was grandly held in Wuhan. At the conference, theHubei Provincial People's Government Decision on the 2024 Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Awardswas announced, granting a total of 337 science and technology awards. Among these, 657 projects were accepted for the Science and Technology Progress Award, with 247 shortlisted in the preliminary evaluation and 227 ultimately awarded. Our university, as thesecond contributing institution, and Professor Li Guoping from the School of Atmospheric Sciences, as thesecond contributor, were awarded theThird Prize for Science and Technology Progressfor the project"Formation Mechanisms and Key Forecasting Technologies for Sudden Mountainous Rainstorms in Western China and Their Applications".
This achievement addresses the severe impacts and forecasting challenges of sudden mountainous rainstorms, identifies and resolves critical scientific and technological issues, and delivers a series of significant outcomes from theoretical research to engineering applications, achievinginternationally advanced standards.
(1)The project proposedidentification criteria for sudden mountainous rainstorm events, revealed the favorable conditions and dominant influencing systems (e.g., low vorticity shear lines) for their occurrence in western China, and clarified the synergistic effects of multi-scale weather systems, moisture sources, and transport pathways. It further demonstrated that the coupling of terrain gravity waves and convective systems is a key trigger mechanism, advancing the understanding of multi-scale synoptic and dynamic processes. Based on these insights, theMountain Sudden Rainstorm Diagnostic Analysis Softwarehas been applied in meteorological services and emergency warnings for mountainous rainstorms in Hubei, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hunan, and Qinghai.
(2)The team developed anew non-hydrostatic model framework (WRF-AREM)tailored to the stepped terrain of western China, introduced the concept of "model terrain uncertainty" and perturbation schemes, and established a short-term forecasting system for mountainous rainstorms (MTRUC). They also created an objective identification method for mesoscale weather systems and an open-source, shared evaluation system for weather forecasting workflows (MetEva). The model system underwent pilot testing by theChina Meteorological Administrationand was implemented by theChongqing Meteorological Bureauto enhance forecasting accuracy in southwestern China. The evaluation platform,MetEva V1.0, has been adopted by over 40 meteorological departments nationwide.
(3)The project advancedsatellite-radar joint quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) technologyfor mountainous regions, establishing theWestern China Mountain QPE System(MQPEV1.0).It quantitatively assessed the spatial-scale effects of QPE on hydrological simulations, developed a radar-based QPE-hydro-meteorological coupling model, and proposed flood-level forecasting techniques for 6-h, 12-h, and 24-h lead times in mountainous basins (e.g., western Hubei). The real-time hydro-meteorological forecasting system significantly improved early warning capabilities for flash floods.MQPEV1.0supported disaster prevention and emergency evacuations during five major rainstorm events in western Hubei in 2023, achieving zero casualties. The system was also applied to four major river basins, i.e.Dongting Lake, Three Gorges, WujiangRiver, and Qingjiang Shuibuya,playing a critical role in managing the 2021 Han River autumn floods, the Eping Power Station rescue in Shiyan, and the Liulin extreme rainstorm disaster in Suizhou, generating substantial economic and social benefits.
