(Formerly Paper 13R.5) Intercomparison between Scanning Radar and Vertical Profiling Radar Observations in the Northern Plains

The Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of North Dakota has developed a high resolution precipitation research facility in the northern plains. The site is located about 60 km south-southeast of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The research site resides on the Nature Conservancy Glacial Ridge Prairie Restoration Project, a 24,000 acre property that is currently being restored to native tall prairie grasses and wetlands from existing farm and graze land. In collaboration with the NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory, a 915 MHz wind profiler has been deployed at Glacial Ridge in efforts to measure boundary layer wind fields and the vertical structure of precipitation. The location of the profiler is ideally located for intercomparisons of scanning radar observations of precipitation using the UND C-Band polarimetric Doppler weather radar the Mayville WSR-88D Doppler weather radar. Both radars are located about 60 km from the profiler site.

Since the profiler was deployed in December 2004, a variety of precipitation systems have been observed by both the UND and Mayville WSR-88D scanning radars over the profiler. The location of the radars and profilers in the northern plains provides a unique opportunity to study the vertical structure of both winter- and summertime precipitation events. This study will focus on scanning radar-profiler comparisons for a wintertime snow event and a summertime deep convective event. A comparison of the observed vertical structure for both cases will be presented in the study.