Abstract:The 2.5°×2.5° global reanalysis data provided by NCEP/NCAR were used in this paper. The anomalies of subtropical high before the two extreme precipitation events in Jiangsu in May 2018 were studied, and the inducing effect of vorticity source caused by the inhomogeneous distribution of condensation latent heat on the fast evolution of subtropical high was calculated quantitatively by the complete-form vorticity equation. The results showed that the average position of the subtropical high ridge on 500 hPa at 120°E at the first pentad in May was near 16°N, while the ridge at 120°E in the same period of 2018 was near 19°N, evidently moving towards the north. The 500 hPa geopotential height anomaly field in East Asia at the first pentad in May 2018 was high in the south and low in the north. This was conducive to forming an intersection of the warm and wet air and the dry and cold air in East China, thus providing a favorable circulation background for the two extreme precipitation events in Jiangsu in May. Relative to the middle-level circulation anomaly of the troposphere, the 8 g·kg-1 equal specific humidity line at 850 hPa between 115°E and 125°E was near 28°N, moving 15° towards the north compared with the perennial climatic state. The specific humidity at 850 hPa in the area with heavy precipitation is 2-4 g·kg-1 more than that in the same term in previous years, and the corresponding anomaly percentage is up to 50%-75%. The 340 K isoline of θse between 110°E and 120°E at the first pentad in May was located on the south of 13°N by referencing to the climate states of many years, but it was near the 25°N in the same period of 2018. The warm and wet air mass moving northward is conducive to generating the heavy precipitation. Before the subtropical high stretches westward and rises on the north, there is a condensation latent heating zone on the west and the north of the main body of subtropical high, indicating a close relation between the latent heating and the evolution of subtropical high. The vertical section shows that 600 hPa is the heating center of condensation latent, and the heating rate decreases as the height increases. Therefore, the vertical gradient of the latent heating rate at 500 hPa is negative, making 500 hPa the origin of the negative vortex source. The negative vortex source generated by the inhomogeneous distribution of condensation latent heat can form a negative vorticity value that approaches to the subtropical high itself within 1-2 days, so it is enough to induce the abrupt change of subtropical high. This time scale is consistent with the real evolution time of the subtropical high. The part that is related to the vertical inhomogeneous distribution of condensation latent heat in the negative vorticity source plays a prominent role, while the part that is related to the horizontal inhomogeneous distribution of condensation latent heat only generates about one third of negative vorticity source of the former at most, which has a minor effect on the abrupt western stretching of subtropical high. The relationship between the negative vortex source associated with the condensation latent heat, as the abrupt change of subtropical high in western Pacific, with the subtropical high still needs further study.