Intraseasonal descriptors and rainfall extremes in austral summer over South Africa : Observations and Meso-scale modelling

Rainfall extremes are of major and increasing importance in semi-arid countries and their variability has strong implications for water resource and climate impacts on the local societies and environment. Here, we examine intraseasonal descriptors (ISDs) and wet extremes in austral summer rainfall (November−February) over South Africa (SA). Using daily observations from 225 rain gauges and ERA5 reanalysis between 1979 and 2015, we propose a novel typology of wet extreme events based on their spatial fraction, thus differentiating large- and small-scale extremes. Long-term variability of both types of extreme rainfall events is then extensively discussed in the context of ISDs. Following the…