Comparison of Airborne and Land-Based Radar Measurements of Precipitation during Winter MONEX

Abstract

The first quantitative test of the lower fuselage radar on the NOAA WP-3D aircraft was obtained during the Winter Monsoon Experiment (Winter MONEX). Reflectivities measured with this radar were compared with land-based measurements obtained with the MIT WR 73 weather radar, which was located on the north coast of Borneo for the experiment. Although the interpretation of the measurements with the WP-3D radar was difficult because of its wide vertical beam and the motion of the aircraft, the coverage of the MIT radar was fully three-dimensional and the volumes sampled by the WP-3D radar beam could thereby be placed into spatial context. The measurements with the two radar systems agreed to within 1–2 dB, excellent agreement for any two quantitative radars. Radar reflectivities computed from particle images obtained aboard the aircraft differed by only 2–3 dB from the aircraft radar measurements, again quite satisfactory agreement.