CE 5315 Climate Science for Engineers

Simone Fatichi
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NUS
Room: E1A-05-12
Email: ceesimo@nus.edu.sg
 Precipitation

 Precipitation is essential for the hydrological cycle, without precipitation, there is (almost) not
hydrology (and little meteorology).

 Precipitation is extremely variable in space and time.

 The transport of latent heat is the main energy equilibrator in the Earth. Without release of
latent heat, there would be less precipitation produced, convective activity is mostly due to the
energy released by latent heat.

 Precipitation is a consequence of condensation, but condensation alone will not be sufficient,

as the change of state requires an activation energy that would be very high without the
availability of condensation nuclei. Additionally, the condensed water drops/ice crystals must
overcome cloud updrafts to fall down and reach the ground.

Supply of moist air Condensation (Clouds)

Growth of condensed products Precipitation

 Cloud cover
Climatological mean total cloud fraction averaged (1984–2009). Global cloud cover averages around 0.68 when
analyzing clouds with optical depth larger than 0.1.

Bergen 73%

New York 42%

Rome 43% Dubai 19%

Taipei 67%
Los Angeles 25%

Singapore 53%
Lima 72%

Karlsson and Devasthale 2018, Rem Sens

Cloud cover source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_sunshine_duration
Cloud Types

 Cirrus
 Alto
 Stratus
 Cumulus
 Nimbus

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cloud_types

 Cloud Formation – Water Vapor Condensation
Clouds form when air becomes supersaturated with respect to liquid water (or in some cases with
respect to ice). The most common means by which supersaturation is produced in the atmosphere is
through the ascent of air parcels, which results in adiabatic cooling. Water vapor condenses onto some
of the particles in the air to form a cloud of small water droplets or ice particles.

The change in Gibbs free energy (E) required for the formation of a pure spherical water droplet by
condensation (homogeneous nucleation) is:
4  RT  e  E = energy in the system [J]
E  r, T , ea   4 r 2   r 3 w * ln  a  r = droplet radius [m]
3 Mw  esat  σ = liquid/vapor surface tension [N m-1]
e  T= temperature [K]
ln  a   0 Unsaturated R*=8.3143 [J mol-1 K-1] universal gas constant
 esat  Mw = 0.018 molecular weight water [kg mol-1]
ρw= density of water [kg m-3]
For large radii and unsaturated air is very difficult to create a ea= vapor pressure [Pa]
droplet. In unsaturated conditions only very small droplets form esat= vapor pressure at saturation [Pa]
and evaporate continuously as they are unable to generate a
cloud.
 ea  For drops large enough created by collision, ΔE becomes negative,
ln    0 Supersaturated
which means they will continue to grow by condensation.
 esat 
 Kelvin Equation
For drops to be in equilibrium with vapor pressure:
RH in equilibrium with a
droplet of size r of pure
d  E  r
2 M w  e  2 M w
0 ln  a   water (0°C)
e 
dr w R*T ln  a   esat  r w R*T Supersaturation
 esat 
Equilibrium saturated water pressure of a droplet (curvature effect):

 2 M w 1   2 M w 1 
esat ,c  esat  exp    esat ,c  esat  1  
 w R*T r    R
w *T r 
Typical
conditions
RH<101.5%

As supersaturation rarely exceeds few percentages. Droplets as large as

0.02 μm created by collision would be far from the critical radius needed
and will evaporate. Consequently, droplets do not form in natural clouds Stull 2017, page 189
by the homogeneous nucleation of pure water. Instead, they form on
atmospheric aerosols by what is known as heterogeneous nucleation.
 Raoult’s law
The atmosphere contains many particles that range in size from submicrometer to several tens of
micrometers. If the particles are wettable, droplets can form and grow on these particles at much lower
supersaturations than required by pure water, as the particles are typically bigger (e.g., > 0.1-0.3 μm).

Some of the particle are soluble and they dissolve in the droplet, which reduce the water vapor
pressure of a factor f, (f is nonlinear with radius), which might favor droplet growth.

ea,sol  ea  f Raoult’s law f= mole fraction of pure water [mol H2O mol-1]
nl= moles of pure water [-] = mass/molecular weight
ns= moles of solute [-] = mass/molecular weight
1
 n   n   n   n  r= droplet radius [m]
ea,sol  ea  l   ea 1  s   ea 1  s   ea 1  s  ea= vapor pressure of pure water [Pa]
 nl  ns   nl   nl  ns   nl  ea,sol= vapor pressure in presence of solute [Pa]
i= Van’t Hoff factor, which accounts for the splitting of
some solutes into components [#]
 
 
ea,sol ns  i
f   1  
ea  w 4 r3 
 M 3 
 w 

Smaller droplets and more solute lower the f value

Image Source: https://equilibriumthermodynamics.weebly.com/raoults-law.html
 Köhler equation
Köhler’s curve combines the effects of curvature and solutes: esat= vapor pressure at saturation pure water [Pa]
esat,sol,c= vapor pressure at saturation in a drop in
 2 M w 1  esat ,sol  3M n  i  presence of solute [Pa]
esat ,c  esat  1   f   1  w s 3  Sk= Saturation ratio of the droplet [-]
  R
w *T r  esat  4w r  sk= Sk -1 supersaturation of the droplet [-]

 2 M w 1  3M wns  i  Relative humidity adjacent to the droplet

esat ,sol ,c  f  esat ,c  esat  1  1  3 
  R
w *T r  4 w r 

esat ,sol ,c  ns , r, T  2 M w 1 3M wns  i 1

Sk   1 
esat T  R*T w r 4w r 3

If a droplet passes the Köhler’s curve peak is said to

be activated and grows, otherwise it evaporates back
to the level of RH in the air. Droplets in this state are in
a stable equilibrium and said to be unactivated or haze
droplets. As drops grow, they
approach pure water
 Cloud condensation nuclei
A small subset of the atmospheric aerosol, called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), serves as particles upon
which water vapor condenses to form droplets that are activated and grow by condensation to form cloud droplets at
the supersaturations achieved in clouds (~0.1–1%). CCN density is favored by large particles that gets wet and are
soluble as it lowers supersaturation. They are more densely concentrated over land near the surface (PBL), in
ocean they are more uniformly distributed vertically.

PBL Concentration
Typically, 30-1000 CCN per
CCN [# cm-3]

cm3 for 0.5 supersaturation

Pöhlker et al 2018, ACP

sk Supersaturation

Forest fires and fossil fuel combustion are a source of CCN.

Gas-to particle conversion from Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and methane
sulfonic acid (MSA) are also sources for CCNs. Westervelt et al 2014 , ACP
 Warm clouds
Clouds that lie completely below the 0 °C isotherm, referred to as warm clouds, contain only water
droplets.
Larger drops lead to the release of precipitation in
Three non-independent cloud characteristics that can shallower clouds, and with smaller updrafts.
be measured define a cloud:

• the amount of liquid water per unit volume of air is

called the liquid water content (LWC) [g m-3],
• total number of water droplets per unit volume of air
called the cloud droplet concentration [# cm-3]
• and the size distribution of cloud droplets called the
droplet size spectrum [# cm-3] for different droplet
size

The liquid water path (LWP) [g m-2], is the mass of

cloud liquid water in a vertical column from cloud base
to top, it is related to cloud optical thickness τc and
effective droplet radius re
1.5LWP Continental clouds with Wallace and Hobbs 2006, page 217
c  more CCNs have more
re dense but smaller droplets.
 Warm clouds
Effective droplet radius [μm] Cloud droplet number Concentration [# cm-3]

McCoy et al 2018, APC

Cloud optical depth [-]

Liquid Water Path [g m-2]

Yi et al. 2017, JGR Atm.

 Cloud - Liquid Water Content
The measured LWC are well below the adiabatic LWC because unsaturated
ambient air is entrained into cumulus clouds. Evaporation in contact with
dry air cool the particle and
generates penetrative
downdrafts in the cloud
Wallace and Hobbs 2006, page 219

Dry air entrainment

Release of
latent heat

Thermal plume Detrainment

Planetary Boundary Layer

Bott 2020 BLM Salzen and McFarlane 2002 J Atm. Sci

 Cumulus - Stratocumulus
Cumulus Cumulus

Cumulonimbus in development phase Stratocumulus

Image Source: https://communitycloudatlas.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/stratocumulus-clouds-from-above-and-below/

https://www.thoughtco.com/types-of-clouds-recognize-in-the-sky-4025569
 Stratus - Nimbostratus
Stratus Nimbostratus

Image Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/types-of-clouds-recognize-in-the-sky-4025569

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/clouds/mid-level-clouds/nimbostratus
 Fog
Fog consists of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the
Earth's surface (a type of low-lying cloud similar to stratus). Fog begins to form in
various ways, all associated with cooling and water vapor condensation into tiny
water droplets (non-activated droplets) that are suspended in the air.

 Radiation fog is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by longwave radiation in calm
conditions with a clear sky.
 Advection fog occurs when moist air passes over a cool surface by advection (wind) and
is cooled
 Evaporation fog or steam fog forms over bodies of water overlain by much colder air;
 Frontal fog forms in much the same way as stratus cloud near a front when raindrops,
falling from relatively warm air above a frontal surface, evaporate into cooler air close to the
Earth's surface and cause it to become saturated.
 Upslope fog forms when moist air is going up the slope of a mountain or hill (orographic
lifting) which condenses into fog.

Image Source:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147712/cool-yule-tule
https://braidmission.org/fog-on-the-mountain/
https://pixels.com/featured/steam-fog-on-flathead-lake-amy-
sorvillo.html
https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/madison/weather/2020/08/12/wha
t-is-fog-and-how-does-it-form
 Growth by condensation
In warm clouds, droplets can grow by condensation in a supersaturated environment and by colliding and
coalescing with other cloud droplets. It can be demonstrated that growth by condensation is:

4 Sk= Saturation ratio of droplet [-]

dmr
 4 rDv   v    v  r   mr  w  r3 RH= ea/esat Ambient Relative humidity [-]
dt 3 ρV = water vapor density [kg m-3]
mr= mass of droplet [kg]
dmr dr r= droplet radius [m]
 4 r w  Gl  RH  Sk  r  Gl  RH  Sk  Dv = diffusion water vapor in air [m2 s-1]
dt dt RV = water vapor – gas constant [J kg-1 K-1]
λ= latent heat of vaporization [J kg-1]
Gl incorporates the effects of the mass transport (diffusion) of ρw= density water [kg m-3]
T= temperature [K]
water vapor molecules to the surface and the transport of heat
K= 0.02364 [W m-1 K-1] Thermal conductivity air 0°C
generated on condensation away from the particle surface

dr 1

 RH  Sk 
dt r  w RvT w   
    1
Vapor diffusion term  Dv esat  T  KT  RvT 
Thermodynamic-heat conduction term

Droplet growth is inversely related to droplet radius and

proportional to supersaturation of the air.
 Drop terminal (fall) velocity
Growth by condensation alone in warm clouds is much too slow to produce raindrops with radii of millimeter size.
Passing from 20 μm to 1 mm requires a change in volume of 125’000%. In warm clouds the growth of some
droplets from the relatively small sizes achieved by condensation to the sizes of raindrops is achieved by the
collision and coalescence of droplets.

Drag Force Gravity and Buoyancy

 4 12a For small particles (≤20 μm)
FD  r u aCD
2 2
FA   r 3 g  w  a  CD  and small Reynolds numbers
2 3 aur
μa= dynamic viscosity air [kg m-1 s-1]
Equilibrium of forces is reached in 1 s: g= gravity acceleration [m s-2]
ρa= density of air [kg m-3]
12a 4 3 2 r g   w  a  2 g  w r 2
2

  r g   w  a  
CD= drag coefficient [-]
r u a
2 2
u
2 aur 3 9 a 9 a
Terminal Velocity (Stokes velocity)

The fall velocity depends on radius, temperature, and pressure. For

larger drops the relation becomes linear or sub-linear with r, slowing
down the increase of velocity with r.

r=20 μm  u= 0.012 m/s

r=40 μm  u= 0.047 m/s
r=1000 μm  u= 4.03 m/s
Image Source: http://homeclimateanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/11/falling-droplets.html
 Collision and Coalescence
rl
Larger drops tends to collide with smaller drops below as they fall faster
E= Collection efficiency [-]
E  Ecoll  Ecoal Ecoll= Collision efficiency [-]

Collision Efficiency [%]

Ecoal= Coalescence efficiency [-]

It can be demonstrated that collision efficiency is:

y2 y= distance between drop centers [m]

Ecoll  rl= radius large particle [m]
 rl  rs 
2
rs= radius small particle [m]

Coalescence Efficiency [%]

Ecoal is the fraction of collisions

that result in a coalescence Ratio of Drop Radii: rs/rl
and can be determined through
experiments. Image: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo300/node/780
Dl

Seifert et al 2005 J Atm. Sci

Ds Image Source: https://fyfluiddynamics.com/2020/02/surface-jets-in-coalescing-droplets/

 Warm clouds – Growth of droplets
The growth for collision and coalescence of a drop is finally described by:

dmr E= Collection efficiency [-]

   rl  rs   E   ul  us   LWC
2
LWC = liquid water content [g m-3]
dt u = terminal velocity [m s-1]
r = radius [m]
dr
   rl  rs   E   ul  us   LWC
2
w 4 rl 2 mr = mass [g]
dt
4
mr  w  r 3
dr E  ul  LWC ul  us 3

dt 4 w rl  rs

Growth increases with time as E and ul

increases with r, which means we are
dealing with an accelerating process.
Raindrops should grow within It can be shown that a drop can
reasonable time periods (~1 h) to be grow from 50 μm to 1000 μm by
effective. collision–coalescence in only 25
minutes.
When raindrops reach large size (>2.5 mm)
they can also break in various ways.
Image Source: http://ftp.comet.ucar.edu/memory-stick/tropical/textbook_2nd_edition/navmenu.php_tab_6_page_3.1.0.htm
 Warm clouds – Growth of droplets
In summary, as air rises in updraft, it cools and eventually reaches
supersaturation. As the supersaturation rises, CCN are activated, starting
with the most efficient CCNs. When the rate at which water vapor in excess of
saturation (produced by cooling) is equal to the rate at which water vapor
condenses onto the CCN and droplets, the supersaturation in the cloud
reaches a maximum value. Subsequently, the growing droplets consume
Maximum
water vapor faster than it is made available by the cooling of the air, so the Supersaturation
supersaturation begins to decrease.

As small drops grow faster in response to condensation, the drop distribution

should become more uniform, but collision and coalescence prevents this
homogenization of sizes. It is fundamental to build a few drops larger than 20
μm, this is helped by large CCN, turbulence favoring collision, radiative
broadening as the drop is warmed by condensation and will lose heat,
stochasticity in the collection. All these factors contribute to a broad spectrum
of droplet sizes measured in clouds. However, in the presence of fewer big Fan et al 2018, Science
drops (e.g., marine clouds) is likely to rain more given all the other condition
the same.

Precipitation must survive the evaporation from the cloud-base to the ground (evaporation of hydrometeors)
to be observed as ground precipitation.
 Drop distribution
Measurements of the size distributions of raindrops
that reach the ground can often be fitted to an
expression, known as the Marshall–Palmer
distribution:
N= number of drops [#]
cD
N (D)  N0e D= diameter of drops [m]
N0= number of drops at D 0 [#]
c= inverse of the mean diameter [m-1] Disdrometer. A disdrometer is an instrument used to measure the
drop size distribution and velocity of falling hydrometeors.
Image Souce: https://www.zataiot.com/disdrometer-distrometer-zdm100/
https://www.ott.com/products/meteorological-sensors-26/ott-parsivel2-laser-weather-sensor-2392

Khain and Pinsky 2018, page 49 Image Source: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo300/node/537

 Cold clouds
Cold clouds are the one with temperature below 0°C. Cold clouds may contain solid ice particles but also water
droplets, as water can be supercooled. If a cloud contains both solid and liquid particles is said “mixed cloud”.
Supercooled droplets are in an unstable state, they need to form an embryo of ice large enough to survive and
grow (as for droplets). The freezing is favored by lower temperatures. To freeze at higher temperatures, the
presence of particles in the droplet (immersion ice nuclei), or the contact with particles (contact nuclei), or particle
where ice is depositing from water vapor phase (deposition nuclei) are needed. These are generally called ice
nuclei.
Freezing temperature depends significantly on the aerosol Heterogeneous
freezing
particle characteristics (only a very small fraction of aerosol
particles can serve as ice nuclei) and it is also enhanced by -25°/- 15°C
supersaturation with respect to ice.

-35°/- 40°C

Homogenous
freezing

N  103 ea 20T 

Number of ice nuclei per Wallace and Hobbs 2006, page 233
. Murray et al 2012, Chem Soc. Rev cm3 with a=0.3-0.6
 Cold clouds
Mülmenstädt et al 2015 JGR Atm.
The probability of containing ice fall sharply with increasing
temperature but it depends on drop size and aerosol particles.

Ice

Liquid

Mixed

Murray et al 2012, Chem Soc. Rev

Phase Fraction
 Ice multiplication
On many clouds, ice particles are present in concentrations several orders of magnitude greater than
ice nuclei ~10-1-10-2 [ice particle cm-3]. Riming is the process of freezing of liquid droplets over ice.

Mechanisms
• Ice break up (Collisional
Evaporative, ??)
• Ice splinters production

Supercooled water

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCRnmBGl-BE De Mott et al 2011, BAMS

 Growth of ice particles by water vapor deposition
There is a quite significant supersaturation of water vapor with regards to ice at cold temperatures (10-20%
supersaturation si). Consequently, ice particles will grow from the vapor phase much more rapidly than droplets.

dmr
 4 rDv   v    v  c   Spherical Crystal
dt
Vapor Pressure [hPa]

dmr
 C  Dv   v    v  c   More in general
dt

dmr dmr C  Si 1

Supersaturated with respect  Gi  Si 1 
to ice and unsaturated with dt dt  RvT    
  s  s 1 
 Dv esat ,i T  KT  RvT  
respect to water

Si= ea/esat,i =S∙esat/esat,i Saturation ratio in respect to ice [-]

si= Si -1 supersaturation with respect to ice [-]
Thermodynamic-heat
Vapor diffusion term conduction term
Temperature [°C]
esat,i= vapor pressure at saturation for ice [Pa]
Ice crystals growing by vapor deposition in mixed clouds increase in mr= mass of droplet [kg]
mass most rapidly at temperatures around -14 °C. r= droplet radius [m]
ρV = water vapor density [kg m-3]
Dv = diffusion water vapor in air [m2 s-1]
This the basic model for the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen process of RV = water vapor – gas constant [J kg-1 K-1]
precipitation formation that resulting in rapid evaporation of liquid water and λs= latent heat of sublimation [J kg-1]
rapid ice crystal growth through vapor deposition. The Bergeron process T= temperature [K]
K= Thermal conductivity air [W m-1 K-1]
often results in precipitation. C = capacitance term function of size and shape of the ice crystal [m]
 Growth of ice particles by water vapor deposition
The shape and size of the ice crystals depends on the temperature and ice supersaturation at the moment
the ice particle is formed.

Maximum difference between

water esat and ice esat,i

Fukuta and Takahashi 1999, J Atm Sci.

Image Source: http://www.cas.manchester.ac.uk/resactivities/cloudphysics/topics/lightscattering
Ice crystals

Image Source: https://www.treehugger.com/perfect-snowflakes-photos-4863764

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-formation-of-snow-crystals
https://slideplayer.com/slide/13774622/
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/science/the-science-of-snowfall
 Growth of ice particles by riming
In a mixed cloud, ice particles can increase in mass by colliding with supercooled droplets that then freeze onto
them. When riming proceeds beyond a certain stage it becomes difficult to discern the original shape of the ice
crystal. The rimed particle is then referred to as graupel.
Hailstones represent an extreme case of the growth of ice particles by riming. They form in vigorous convective
clouds that have high liquid water contents.

Hailstorm in Singapore

June - 2013
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7UjRNtacJw
 Hail
Hail forms in strong thunderstorm clouds, particularly those with intense updrafts, high liquid water content, great
vertical extent, large water droplets, and where a good portion of the cloud layer is below freezing 0 °C (e.g.,
freezing level < 3400 m)

Image Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-massive-tennis-ball-

Prein and Holland 2018 Weather and Clim. Ext. hailstones-fall-in-australia-2018-12?r=US&IR=T
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/20/sydney-storms-city-
battered-by-tennis-ball-sized-hail-as-fronts-hit-nsw-coast
 Growth of ice particles by aggregation
The third mechanism by which ice particles grow in clouds is by colliding and aggregating with one another, if
the terminal velocity are different. The frequency of collisions of ice particles in clouds is enhanced greatly if
some riming has taken place. Adhesion among particles also influences growth by aggregation and it is
affected by particle type and temperature (>-5°C).
Terminal Velocity [m s-1]

Dimensions of Crystal [mm]

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake
(From Fletcher, 1962)
 Ice clouds
Liquid Water Path [g m-2]

Effective droplet radius [μm]

Cloud optical depth [-]

Yi et al. 2017, JGR Atm.

 Altocumulus –Altostratus
Altocumulus Altostratus

Fallstreak Altostratus

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallstreak_hole

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altostratus_cloud
 Cirrus – Cirrucumulus - Cirrustratus
Cirrucumulus
Cirrus

Cirrustraus
 Artificial effects on clouds
Clouds could be artificially enhanced by increasing the number concentration of cloud droplets (CCN), e.g., ship
track clouds, or by the combination of CCN and water vapor emitted by aircrafts, e.g., contrails.
“Cloud seeding” has been also used with both intention to enhance rain or eliminate clouds. It is not really
scientifically solid, except to dissipate cold clouds or cold fogs.

Image Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/airplane-contrails-may-be-creating-accidental-

geoengineering-180957561/
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/91608/signs-of-ships-in-the-clouds
https://www.miningreview.com/southern-africa/cloud-seeding-technology-to-maximize-water-availability/
 Precipitation
Most of rain that reaches the ground has been ice, but there are also warm clouds where droplets remain always
liquid. The growth of ice crystals by deposition of vapor is not sufficiently fast to produce large raindrops. Unlike
growth by deposition, the growth rates of an ice particle by riming and aggregation increase as the ice particle
increases in size and can produce precipitation-sized particles (> 100 μm) in reasonable times.
Reflectivity [dBz]

Snow and ice particles

Bright band

Melting level

Larger raindrops

Image Source: Rico‐Ramirez and Cluckie 2007

https://wx.erau.edu/faculty/mullerb/Wx365/Bright_band/bright_band.html International Journal of Remote Sensing,
 Precipitation Types

 Drizzle 0.1-0.5 mm (100-500 μm) diameter

Light < 2.5 mm/h
 Rain >0.5 mm diameter Rain intensity Moderate 2.5 - 7.5 mm/h
Heavy >7.5 mm/h
 Snow Ice crystals

 Snow pellets Shapeless snow coated with ice (0.5 – 5 mm)

 Sleet Frozen drops

 Freezing rain

 Hail 2-50 mm diameter

 Dew

 Hoar frost
Image Source: https://www.nj.com/weather/2019/12/is-it-sleet-freezing-rain-heres-how-to-tell-the-difference.html
 Precipitation Types

Drizzle Rain Snow Snow Pellets (Graupel) Sleet

Frozen Rain Hail Dew Hoar Frost

Image Sources: https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/research/winter/ https://medium.com/poets-unlimited/drizzle-of-this-winter-329434bb796d

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost https://fbrushes.com/snowfall/
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/what-is-the-difference-between-freezing-rain-sleet-snow-hail-and-graupel/339868
 Precipitation - Radar
Weather RADAR (RAdio Detecting And Ranging) is a type of radar used to locate precipitation and estimate its
type. Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in
addition to the intensity of the precipitation. Both types of data can be analyzed to determine the structure of
storms and their potential to cause severe weather. Radar observations detect precipitation (rain, hail, snow) up to
a few hundred kilometres away, and estimates its intensity from the attenuation of a microwave signal.

29 July 2021, 14.15 UTC

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSSL_Doppler

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StF19Qdgqn0
 Precipitation – Radar Measurements
Radar emits electromagnetic waves (λ=1-15 cm), energy is partially
scattered, reflected and absorbed. The radar measures the reflected
energy. The steps for observing precipitation are:

 Emission and reception of electromagnetic waves in X, C, S-

bands.
 Electromagnetic waves are backscattered to the antenna from
liquid and solid objects. The backscattered power is called
reflectivity (Z).
 Z is function of the number and dimension of intercepted
hydrometeors and their dielectric constant.
 Z is converted in precipitation depth (R) by using the so-called Z-R
relation. This relation can be also derived theoretically starting
from Marshall-Palmer distribution.
resolution Scales of reflectivity
X-band radars (wavelength (λ) of 2.5 to 4 cm)
C-band radars (wavelength (λ) of 4 to 8 cm)
S-band radars (wavelength (λ) of 8 to15 cm)
range
 Precipitation – Radar Measurements
The radar is measuring the “echo” not the W = backscattered power (measured)
C = constant that accounts for the radar characteristics
precipitation! (antenna gain, pulse width, wavelength, beam width, and
2 pulse duration)
C K Z K= factor function of the dielectric constant of the particles
W r = distance from the radar
l 2r 2 l = attenuation term caused by the two-way propagation in
gases, clouds, and precipitation
Reflectivity factor: Z [dBZ] Z = radar reflectivity [dBZ]

a,b = parameters of the Z-R

Z  aR b
relation
R = rainfall intensity [mm h-1]

Conversion to rainfall intensity requires local

calibration of a,b.

For instance, Z  200  R1.6 Marshall-Palmer (Z-R) equation

Accuracy of rainfall intensity itself is not great – but spatial

distribution is very good

See http://www.weather.gov.sg/weather-rain-area-50km/ Image Source: http://www.weather.gov.sg/learn_observations/

 Weather Radar Errors
There are several errors potentially affecting radar
observations:

1) Miscalibration (typically small)

2) Attenuation (e.g., high rainfall intensity, radome wetting)
3) Ground clutter and erroneous echoes (e.g., thermal
inversion, ships, birds)
4) Beam blockage (mountain shielding)
5) Variability of the Z-R relation
6) Vertical variability of the precipitation system
(ice/snow/rain), for instance the “bright band”.

Source: https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/weather-and-climate-at-reading/2014/upgrading-
weather-radar-measurements-to-improve-flash-flood-warnings/ Shakti et al 2013, J. Hydrom.
 Precipitation – Radar Outputs
All data from radar scans are displayed according to the need of
the users. Different outputs have been developed through time:

The Plan Position Indicator (PPI) which is only the layout of

radar return on a two-dimensional image along one specific
angle.
The constant-altitude plan position indicator (CAPPI) is
basically a horizontal cross-section through radar data. This
way, one can compare precipitation on an equal footing at
difference distance from the radar and avoid ground echoes.
The composite reflectivity is the maximum reflectivity from any
of the measured angles.
When a weather radar is
scanning in only one
direction, the output of this

z-direction
sounding is called a
Range Height Indicator
(RHI) which is excellent
for viewing the detailed
vertical structure of a
storm x-direction
Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_radar
 Weather Radar – Wind Velocity
The ability to detect the shift in the phase of the pulse of energy makes a given radar a Doppler
radar. The phase of the returning signal typically changes based upon the motion of the raindrops (or
bugs, dust, etc.). The radar measures the phase change of the reflected pulse of energy, which is then
converted to a velocity of the object.

Moving away Reflectivity Wind Velocity

Moving toward

Image Source:
https://www.weather.gov/mkx/using-radar
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/07/02/dc-tornado-damage-explanation/
 Radar vs Raingauge Precipitation
At high temporal resolutions, radar and ground rainfall observations do not agree perfectly. With
aggregation the correspondence becomes better.

Storm types have different

spatial structure (correlation)
Peleg et al 2013, HESS
 Satellite Precipitation
Satellite can be geostationary (36,000 km orbit). i.e., they
observed a fixed scene or on low-Earth or polar orbits (~200-1000
km), which have higher spatial resolution but can pass only once,
twice per day in the same point.
Satellite rainfall observations combine active radar sensors,
passive microwave sensors, radiometers in the visible and
infrared, and observations of cloud properties.

Cloud properties:
• Cloud indexing techniques assign a rain rate level to each cloud type
identified in the satellite imagery.
• Bi-spectral methods: simple relationship between cold and bright
clouds and high probability of precipitation, which is characteristic of
cumulonimbus.
• Life-history methods: detailed analysis of the life cycle of a cloud
(particularly relevant for convective clouds)

Image Source: https://pmm.nasa.gov/education/images/gpm-constellation-satellites

http://www.un-spider.org/news-and-events/news/research-warns-about-need-improve-rainfall-satellite-portfolio
 Satellite Precipitation

Satellite Rainfall Products

TRMM
(https://pmm.nasa.gov/trmm)

CMORPH
(http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
products/janowiak/cmorph_des
cription.html)

GPM
(https://www.nasa.gov/mission_
pages/GPM/main/index.html)

Source: https://gpm.nasa.gov/data/visualization/global-viewer