Influence of Micronet Locations on Hyperlocal Precipitation Measurements in Chicagoland

Precipitation accumulation measurements are known to be accurate for events covering large areas, such as stratiform precipitation. Observations of localized extreme precipitation events, often caused by convective storms, suffer from inaccuracies due to their localized nature, fast motion, and varying intensity over the affected area. This study aims to determine the adequate size needed for a network of densely packed in-situ precipitation gauges to fill in the current gaps in our network. Studies at the Argonne Testbed for Multiscale Observational Science (ATMOS) were conducted to find the necessary spacing for capturing these localized convective precipitation events. Comparisons of radar-derived precipitation to in-situ observations for three separate events covering stratiform, convective, and dual-mode precipitation were conducted to discover whether radar can fill the current gaps or if a denser network of in-situ observations is needed.