Based on the hourly precipitation data at 81 national meteorological observation stations of Gansu Province from 1981 to 2018 and NCEP reanalysis data, the climate and circulation characteristics of extreme rainstorms were emphatically analyzed in different falling areas of Gansu Province. The results are as follows: (1) The extreme rainstorm weathers occurred mainly in Longnan, Tianshui, Pingliang and Qingyang of eastern Gansu, and the heavy rainfall centers concentrated in Kangxian and Huixian of Longnan. The extreme rainstorms were classified into four types including eastern Gansu, southern Gansu, southeastern Gansu and dispersion patterns, according to the falling areas of rainstorms. (2) The extreme rainstorms were easily to occur in July and August in Gansu, especially in mid-August. The extreme rainstorms in southern Gansu were earlier than in eastern Gansu. The precipitation of extreme rainstorms at night was more than in the daytime as a whole, the night rain characteristic was remarkable in Gansu, especially in southern Gansu and southeastern Gansu. In additional, the convective characteristic was significant in Gansu. (3) There were 2.5, 5 and 10 years period of extreme rainstorms in Gansu during 1981-2018, and the 2.5-year periodic oscillation was obvious. (4) The extreme rainstorms in Gansu were correlated with the subtropical high, and the falling area of rainstorm was significantly related to the location of subtropical high. Moreover, the extreme rainstorms in eastern Gansu were also related to the easterly airflow at the bottom of northern high ridge, the extreme rainstorms with dispersion pattern were related to the tropical low pressure in South China Sea, while the extreme rainstorms in southern and southeastern Gansu depended on the intensity and location of short-wave trough in Tibet Plateau.
