Diurnal cycle of convection in the Peruvian Highlands

This manuscript examines from the diurnal convection cycle (DCC) to the interdecadal variability in the region of the Peruvian Altiplano (RPA). Currently, estimating precipitation using satellites is an alternative which can be used to study the spatio-temporal evolution of precipitation systems. Herein CPC data Morphing technique - CMORPH (Joyce et al, 2004) was used between 2002 and 2014 to analyze the DCC in RPA. The CMOPRH data were compared with rainfall data series measured by rain gauges of meteorological stations in the RPA. The results indicate that the DCC shows high variability in the Titicaca Basin and is associated with patterns of lake breeze (day), land breeze (night) and mountain - valley circulation. The CDC starts at 1800 LT (local time) in the northern region of Lake Titicaca, lasting between 2 h and 6 h, and most of 20:00 LT. The DCC over the dry surface of Titicaca Basin starts early at around 12:00 LT, lasting 4 h to 7 h, and maximum at 18:00 HL.