Wu et al. (2026) Analysis of urban-scale typhoon precipitation characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns: a case study of Ningbo, China

Identification

• Journal: Natural hazards and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-04
• Authors: Caiming Wu, Yi Lu, Hong‐Li Ren, Fumin Ren
• DOI: 10.5194/nhess-26-4291-2026

Research Groups

• Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), School of Atmospheric Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
• State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather Meteorological Science and Technology (LaSW), and Center for Meteorological Impact and Risk Research, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences
• Shanghai Typhoon Institute, China Meteorological Administration
• Asia-Pacific Typhoon Collaborative Research Center

Short Summary

This study analyzed urban-scale typhoon precipitation characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns in Ningbo, China. The results show that the impacts of typhoon-related rainfall in Ningbo are dominated by long-duration extreme rainfall, with current published IDF curves underestimating the extremes for such events.

Objective

• Investigate the intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) characteristics and key spatiotemporal rainfall patterns of typhoon rainstorms in Ningbo, China

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: County-level, urban area of Ningbo, China
• Temporal Scale: 1980–2024, with two periods: 1980–2014 and 1980–2024

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Empirical frequency distribution (Exponential), K-means clustering method
• Data sources: Meteorological station observations, assimilated gridded datasets from Ningbo, China, hourly precipitation data from 1951 to present for nine national stations in Ningbo

Main Results

• The impacts of typhoon-related rainfall in Ningbo are dominated by long-duration extreme rainfall, with current published IDF curves underestimating the extremes for such events.
• Comparison of the results for two periods (1980–2014 and 1980–2024) revealed spatially inhomogeneous enhancement of typhoon impacts, with notable increase in the northern region.
• The extracted temporal rainfall patterns were found dominated by the central-peaked pattern (with rainfall concentrated in the middle phase) and the late-peaked pattern.

Contributions

• This study provides a scientific reference for urban resilience in typhoon-prone coastal regions with systemic vulnerability to extreme typhoon rainfall.
• The results offer insights into the characteristics of long-duration heavy rainfall events associated with typhoons, which is essential for designing flood control and drainage infrastructure.

Funding

• Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD)
• State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather Meteorological Science and Technology (LaSW)

Citation

@article{Wu2026Analysis,
  author = {Wu, Caiming and Lu, Yi and Ren, Hong‐Li and Ren, Fumin},
  title = {Analysis of urban-scale typhoon precipitation characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns: a case study of Ningbo, China},
  journal = {Natural hazards and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/nhess-26-4291-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-4291-2026}
}