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Using Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations with different initial soil moisture (ISM) conditions, we investigate the sensitivity to ISM for the three severe heat wave events dominating eastern China in 2003, 2007 and 2013. The control simulations are able to reproduce the spatial distributions and the daily evolutions for each of the three heat waves but apparently underestimate their amplitudes, intensities and spatial extensions. The decreased ISM could cause an enhancement on heat waves with increased amplitudes, extents and intensities, while it has insignificant influence on the spatial distributions and temporal variations. The responses of heat waves are generally decreasing with the increasing ISM, controlled by different regimes in the surface soil moisture-temperature relationship. Through enhanced sensible flux as well as reduced latent cooling, the initial soil dryness locally strengthens the surface warming and the further drying of the soil. The three heat waves were all dominated by high-pressure systems in the mid-troposphere. The reduced ISM forces positive anomalies of geopotential height at mid-troposphere and negative anomalies at lower levels, leading to an enhanced thickness of the atmosphere. Such a thickened atmosphere can strengthen the anomalous high-pressure systems, favoring the maintenance of severe heat waves. This acts as a positive feedback between atmospheric circulation, surface warming and soil dryness.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.