Polarimetric radars measure reflectivity at horizontal polarization, differential reflectivity, specific differential phase, and copolar cross correlation coefficient. While S-band polarimetric radar (like the WSR-88D) provides a large spatial coverage, a network of X-band radars offers finer resolution and better observations of low-level weather condition. A 2DVD provides accurate measurements of precipitation microphysics, including the shape, size and falling velocity of precipitation particles, which is essential for interpreting polarization radar data.

In this paper, we present observations and data analysis of rain events collected with an S-band radar, an X-band network and a 2D video disdrometer (2DVD) in Oklahoma during the 2007 spring season. Storm structure and evolution are studied through polarimetric S- and X-band radar observations. Then, raindrop size distributions (DSDs) are retrieved from the S-band polarimetric radar data (PRD). The retrieved rain DSDs are used to cross-verify the attenuation correction for the X-band measurement. Further, disdrometer data is used to validate the DSD retrieval and attenuation correction and to deduce the microphysical properties of the storm events. We also compare and evaluate the performance of the radars at the two-frequencies for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE).