Monday, 10 January 2005
A comparison of multi-sensor hail diagnosis techniques
There are several hail prediction techniques employed by operational forecasters. Some of these methods are based on single-radar algorithm output grids such as Vertically Integrated Liquid (VIL) or VIL Density, while others use cell-based VIL, Hail Detection Algorithm output, or vertical reflectivity profiles. This study compares existing techniques to several new, multi-sensor hail detection and storm analysis products. These new products include gridded output fields integrated from three-dimensional mosaics of reflectivity data as well as cell-based parameters from NSSL’s Multi-Radar Storm Cell Identification and Tracking Algorithm. We focus on evaluating the performance of these new techniques in regions where well-know techniques have a high failure rate: near-range to a radar (in the “cone of silence”), in areas of beam blockage, and at long ranges where the beam resolution is course.
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