Open AccessFlood warning and the use of weather radar in Scotland: a study of flood events in the Ruchill Water catchment
Author(s) -
Cranston Michael D.,
Black Andrew R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
meteorological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1469-8080
pISSN - 1350-4827
DOI - 10.1017/s1350482705001969
Subject(s) - flood myth , environmental science , meteorology , radar , storm , weather radar , flood forecasting , climatology , warning system , wind speed , numerical weather prediction , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , geology , computer science , telecommunications , geotechnical engineering , archaeology
This paper reports on work that demonstrates that weather radar can yield remarkably accurate rainfall measurements in Scotland. Analysis of data during 1999 and 2000 shows Nimrod radar data to have no consistent error bias and a 24% mean error in storm rainfall totals. For rivers such as the Ruchill Water in the Perthshire Highlands this highlights the fact that the observations and quality control corrections utilised by the Met Office Nimrod system may offer particular benefits in certain flood warning applications. Assessment of wind data indicates that smaller errors occur in Nimrod radar observations during lower wind speeds (less than 15 knots) and with an easterly airflow. However, errors may also be attributed to occasions when the Numerical Weather Prediction model fails to represent the wind conditions correctly at ground level. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society.