Intercomparison of Bulk Microphysics Schemes in Model Simulations of Polar Lows

Four spiraliform polar lows, two over the Sea of Japan and two over the Nordic Seas, were simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Five mixed-phase bulk microphysics schemes (BMS) provided with WRF were run respectively in order to compare their performance in polar low simulations. The observed cloud-top temperatures (CTTs) were compared with the model simulations. Precipitation rates estimated by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and gauge-calibrated surface radar precipitation estimates around Japan were also used for validation. Although definitive validation is not possible with the available data, results from the WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6) scheme appear to reproduce the cloud and precipitation processes most realistically. The model produced precipitation intensities comparable to validation products over the Sea of Japan. However, in the Nordic Seas cases, all five schemes produced significantly more precipitation than the AMSR-E estimates even though the latter estimates are known to average slightly high in the same region when validated against monthly totals measured at Jan Mayen Island (Norway).