Data Supporting "Mesoscale Convective Clustering Enhances Tropical Precipitation"

These data are in support of "Mesoscale Convective Clustering Enhances Tropical Precipitation" by P. Angulo-Umana and D. Kim. 

In the tropics, extreme precipitation events are often caused by mesoscale systems of organized, spatially clustered deep cumulonimbi, posing a substantial risk to life and property. While the clustering of convective clouds has been thought to strengthen precipitation intensity, no quantitative estimates of this hypothesized enhancement exist. In this study, after isolating the effects of mesoscale convective clustering on precipitation, we find that strongly clustered convection precipitates more intensely than weakly clustered convection. We further show that this enhancement is primarily attributable to an increase in convective precipitation intensity when the environment is less than 70% saturated, with increases in stratiform cloud cover being of equal or greater importance when the environment is closer to saturation. Our results suggest that a correct representation of mesoscale organized convective systems in numerical weather and climate models is needed for accurate predictions of extreme precipitation events.