Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #155571
Title: Multi-watershed evaluation of WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar-precipitation products for hydrologic and natural resources modeling applications

Author
item Hardegree, Stuart
item Van Vactor, Steve
item Healy, Kathleen
item Alonso, Carlos
item Bonta, James - Jim
item Bosch, David - Dave
item Fisher, Dwight
item Goodrich, David - Dave
item Harmel, Daren
item Steiner, Jean
item Van Liew, Michael

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/4/2003
Publication Date: 11/8/2003
Citation: Hardegree, S.P., Van Vactor, S.S., Healy, K.R., Alonso, C.V., Bonta, J.V., Bosch, D.D., Fisher, D.S., Goodrich, D.C., Harmel, R.D., Steiner, J.L., Van Liew, M.W., 2003, Multi-watershed evaluation of WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar-precipitation products for hydrologic and natural resources modeling applications. In: American Geophysical Union. 84(46):H22D-0962.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The National Weather Service (NWS) operates a network of Doppler-radar stations (NEXRAD, WSR-88D) that produce hourly-rainfall estimates, at approximately 4-km resolution, with nominal coverage of 96% of the conterminous US. Utilization of these data by the NWS are primarily for the detection and modeling of extreme-weather events. Radar-precipitation estimates were compared with gauge estimates at 6 ARS watershed-research locations in Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia and Mississippi, to evaluate the utility of these data for hydrologic and natural resources modeling applications. Radar precipitation estimates underestimated gauge readings for all locations except Tucson. In all cases, the total number of hours with measured-radar precipitation was much less than hours containing gauge-precipitation estimates. Additional modification of NWS precipitation processing procedures will be necessary to improve accessibility and utility of these data for hydrologic and natural resource modeling applications.