Open AccessAn Automated Radar Technique for the Identification of Tropical Precipitation
Author(s) -
Xu Xinwen,
Kenneth W. Howard,
Zhang Jian
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of hydrometeorology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.733
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1525-755X
pISSN - 1525-7541
DOI - 10.1175/2007jhm954.1
Subject(s) - precipitation , radar , environmental science , quantitative precipitation estimation , climatology , tropics , tropical cyclone , tropical climate , meteorology , storm , quantitative precipitation forecast , identification (biology) , atmospheric sciences , geology , computer science , geography , ecology , telecommunications , archaeology , biology
A radar-based automated technique for the identification of tropical precipitation was developed to improve quantitative precipitation estimation during extreme rainfall events. The technique uses vertical profiles of reflectivity to identify the potential presence of warm rain (i.e., tropical rainfall) microphysics and delineates the tropical rainfall region to which the tropical Z–R relationship is applied. The performance of the algorithm is examined based on case studies of five storms that produced extreme precipitation in the United States. Results demonstrate relative improvements in radar-based quantitative precipitation estimation through the automated identification of tropical rainfall and the subsequent adaptation of the tropical Z–R relation to account for the potential warm rain processes.