The Relationship Between the Inner‐Core Size and the Rainfall Distribution in Landfalling Tropical Cyclones Over China

Abstract The tropical cyclone (TC) size is a crucial parameter in determining the destructiveness of a TC, but the relationship between the inner‐core size and rainfall distribution in landfalling TCs is little known. This study presents an observational analysis of the relationship between the radius of maximum wind (RMW) and the rainfall in landfalling TCs over China during 2001–2020. It is found that small TCs have higher rainrate with higher axisymmetry than large TCs. Though both small and large TCs have rainfall within a radius of 5° latitudes, the rainfall occurs up to 10 times of the RMW in small TCs compared to within 5 times of the RMW in large TCs. Small TCs have a 6‐hr delayed rainfall decrease compared to large TCs near the landfall. Higher TC intensity may partly contribute to higher rainrate during landfall in smaller TCs than in larger TCs.