Flexible Multi-Threshold Identification and Tracking Applied to an Existing Storm Cell Identification and Tracking Algorithm

Storm cell identification and tracking (SCIT) is a highly pertinent challenge in the study of storm cell development. However, a major complication in the pursuit of accurate storm cell tracking is the imprecision involved in identifying a storm cell. In this paper, a previously presented identification and tracking algorithm is further developed to address this issue. While traditional SCIT algorithms concretely define a storm cell at each point in time and attempt to find a temporal correspondence between these storms, a different approach is suggested in this paper. Regions of intense reflectivity are identified at multiple thresholds allowing a more flexible approach to storm cell identification and tracking. At each point in time, a decision is made to determine which threshold levels yield the most logical storm cell tracks, and consequently minimize the necessity to consider splitting and merging of storm cell tracks.