Radar-rain gauge comparison

From Glossary of Meteorology



radar–rain gauge comparison

The comparison of hydrological measurements (principally average rain rate or total precipitation accumulation over an interval) made with one or more meteorological radars with measurements made over the same spatial and temporal interval by in situ instruments.

Such comparisons are usually made to calibrate the radar measurements, though sampling problems (spatial inhomogeneity of precipitation, sparseness of the rain gauge network, and the vertical profile of radar reflectivity) are formidable.


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