  In a changing climate, a key role may be played by the response of
convective-type cloud and precipitation to temperature changes. Yet, it is
unclear if precipitation intensities will increase mainly due to modified
thermodynamic forcing or due to stronger convective dynamics. In gradual
self-organization, convective events produce highest intensities late in the
day. Tracking rain cells throughout their life cycles, we find that interacting
events respond strongly to changes in boundary conditions. Conversely, events
without interaction remain unaffected. Increased surface temperature indeed
leads to more interaction and higher precipitation extremes. However, a similar
intensification occurs when leaving temperature unchanged but simply granting
more time for self-organization.Our study implies that the convective field as
a whole acquires a memory of past precipitation and inter-cloud dynamics,
driving extremes. Our results implicate that the dynamical interaction between
convective clouds must be incorporated in global climate models to describe
convective extremes and the diurnal cycle more realistically.
