Abstract: Using daily precipitation data from 52 meteorological stations in Liaoning province and the NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis datasets in April and May from 1961 to 2013,characteristics of the first soaking rain in spring sowing season of Liaoning province were analyzed.The impacts of the Okhotsk blocking high on it were discussed.The results show that the first soaking rains in the spring sowing season of Liaoning province occur from April 17 to May 3,and the average date is April 22 during 1961 to 2013.The occurring dates of the first soaking rain in the spring sowing season successively postpone from the southeastern to northwestern parts.The Okhotsk blocking high is the main circulation system that affects when the first soaking rain in the spring sowing season occurs.Due to the obstructing by the Okhotsk blocking high,the cold air piles up in the Baikal Lake,and the Okhotsk blocking high stimulates a cyclonic circulation at the low layer of the troposphere.As a result,the water vapor that transports from the Bay of Bengal to Liaoning through the central and eastern parts of China provides a necessary condition for the occurrence of the first soaking rain in the spring sowing season of Liaoning province.

Key words: Soaking rain, Okhotsk blocking high, Baikal Lake, Cyclone