CHARACTERISTICS OF SEASONAL VARIATION OF RAINFALL OVER THE TIBETAN PLATEAU DURING SUMMER 1998 AND ITS IMPACT ON EAST ASIAN WEATHER

The seasonal variation of rainy season over the Tibetan Plateau in summer 1998 is analyzed byusing daily observational rainfall data for Lhasa from 1955 to 1996,and rainfall data at 70 stationsfrom January to August of 1998 over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and adjacent regions,as well asTBB data from May to August of 1998.The onset date of rainy season for Lhasa is climatologically6 June.Among the analyzed years,the earliest onset date is 6 May,while the latest may delay to2 July.The obvious inter-decadal variation can be found in the series of onset date.The onset dateof summer 1998 over middle TP (onset date of Lhasa) is 24 June,which is relatively later than thenormal case.The onset for rainy season of 1998 started over southeast and northeast parts of TP and thenpropagated westward and northward.The convection over east and west parts of TP shows thatthere is a quasi 12-15 day oscillation.In June,the convection over middle and lower reaches ofYangtze River is formed by the westward propagation of convection over subtropical westernPacific.while in July.it is formed by the eastward propagation of convection over TP.Besides,it is also found that there exists good negative and obvious advance and lagcorrelation between the convection over the middle and western TP and that over the subtropicalwestern Pacific and southern China.Therefore it can be inferred that a feedback zonal circulationwith a quasi two-three week oscillation exists between the ascending region of TP and descendingregion of subtropical western Pacific,i.e.the convection over TP may affect the subtropical highover western Pacific and vice versa.