Evaluating NEXRAD Estimates for the Missouri River Basin: Analysis Using Daily Raingauge Data
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 7
Abstract
This paper presents an evaluation of next generation weather radar (NEXRAD) Stage III and MPE precipitation estimates for the Missouri River Basin River Forecast Center (MBRFC) using daily gauge data from the National Weather Service cooperative network. This gauge network is independent of data used to develop the NEXRAD operational products, and, thus, provides an independent assessment of NEXRAD error characteristics. NEXRAD bias, correlation, and percent detection are mapped across the MBRFC to demonstrate the spatial distribution of NEXRAD errors. In general terms, the NEXRAD estimates perform much better in the southeastern portion of the basin than they do in the central and mountainous areas. Although the overall NEXRAD-gauge statistics appear to be worse than those reported in other published studies, the results of this study show marked improvement in NEXRAD estimates of warm season precipitation over the eight-year study period.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded in part by the Kansas Department of Transportation through the K-TRAN Cooperative Transportation Research Program. This support is greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 7 • July 2008
Pages: 549 - 553
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 12, 2006
Accepted: Sep 18, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
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