Abstract:Based on the conventional observational data and reanalysis data of Zhejiang Meteorological Station from 1971 to 2016, the statistical characteristics of persistent rainfall in autumn in Zhejiang Province were analyzed. The results are shown as follows. (1) The average rainfall frequency in Zhejiang is 1.8 times per year, with each time lasting 5.5 days, and the average rainfall is 77 mm. In the three month of autumn, it is the most possible to see the continuous rainy weather in September. There is 1-2 times continuous rainy weather lasting 5-7 days in most years, and 78% of such weather has the cumulative precipitation below 100 mm. These characteristics are universal for the whole province, and the prone area is located in Hangzhou-Shaoxing region. (2) There are consistent characteristics in the frequency, accumulative lasting days and accumulative rainfall, which all characterize obvious interannual variation. There are 4 strong years and 7 weak years. (3) The strong (weak) year occurs when the South Asian high and the western Pacific subtropical high meet each other halfway (go back on each other). In strong (weak) years, the western Pacific subtropical high locates in the west (east) anomalously, and the South Asian high locates in the east (west) anomalously; the uplift (sinking) airflow prevails over the East China region, and the low-level anomalous south (north) wind brings (hinders) the warm and wet air, which are (not) conducive to the occurrence of persistent rainy weather. (4) The atmospheric circulation anomaly in strong and weak years is related to the tropical sea surface temperature forcing. In strong (weak) years, the equatorial Pacific sea temperature is in the La Niña state (with unapparent anomaly), which makes the convection over the eastern Indian Ocean-South China Sea-Oceanic Continent more active (weaker). The latent heating stimulates (is not strong enough to stimulate) the low-level Matsuno-Gill response, and the cyclone circulation anomaly on the Asian continent is (cannot be) excited, so that the anticyclone circulation anomaly on Northwest Pacific region is (cannot be) excited by the strong (weak) sinking airflow on equatorial central eastern Pacific. The low-level cyclone-anticyclone circulation anomaly (weak circulation anomaly) makes the East China region dominated by the anomalous south (north) wind, and the increased (decreased) water vapor is (not) conducive to the occurrence of persistent rain in Zhejiang Province.