Evaluation of a Method to Enhance Real-Time, Ground Radar–Based Rainfall Estimates Using Climatological Profiles of Reflectivity from Space

Abstract (From http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JHM-D-15-0062.1): Over mountainous terrain, ground weather radars face limitations in monitoring surface precipitation as they are affected by radar beam blockages along with the range-dependent biases due to beam broadening and increase in altitude with range. These issues are compounded by precipitation structures that are relatively shallow and experience growth at low levels due to orographic enhancement. To improve surface precipitation estimation, researchers at the University of Oklahoma have demonstrated the benefits of integrating the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) products into the ground-based NEXRAD rainfall estimation system [...]