Radar Basics and Estimating Precipitation

Jon W. Zeitler

Science and Operations Officer

National Weather Service
Austin/San Antonio Forecast Office
Radar Beam Basics
 Energy Scattering
As pulse volumes within the radar beam encounter targets, energy will be
scattered in all directions. A very small portion of the intercepted energy will be
backscattered toward the radar. The degree or amount of backscatter is
determined by target:

size (radar cross section)

shape (round, oblate, flat, etc.)
state (liquid, frozen, mixed, dry, wet)
concentration (number of particles per unit volume)

We are concerned with two types of scattering, Rayleigh and non-Rayleigh.

Rayleigh scattering occurs with targets whose diameter (D) is much smaller (D <
/16) than the radar wavelength. The WSR-88D's wavelength is approximately
10.7 cm, so Rayleigh scattering occurs with targets whose diameters are less than
or equal to about 7 mm or ~0.4 inch. Raindrops seldom exceed 7 mm so all liquid
drops are Rayleigh scatters.

Potential problem: Nearly all hailstones are non-Rayleigh scatterers due to their
larger diameters.  
Probert-Jones Radar Equation
Simplified Radar Equation
 Equivalent Reflectivity (Ze)

Since we technically don't know the drop-size distribution or

physical makeup of all targets within a sample volume, radar
meteorologists oftentimes refer to radar reflectivity as
equivalent reflectivity, Ze.

The assumption is that all backscattered energy is coming from

liquid targets whose diameters meet the Rayleigh
approximation. Obviously, this assumption is invalid in those
cases when large, water-coated hailstones are present in a
sample volume. Hence, the term equivalent reflectivity instead
of actual reflectivity is more valid.
  Reflectivity (Z) vs.
(Equation 5)

Decibels of Reflrectivity (dBZ)

dBZ = 10log10Z
Beam-Filling
Sending vs. Listening
 Sending vs. Listening

99.843% of the time the WSR-88D is listening for signal returns.

 The Doppler Dilemna

A low PRF is desirable for target range and power, while a

high PRF is desirable for target velocity. The inability to
satisfy both needs with a single PRF is known as the Doppler
Dilemma. The Doppler Dilemma is addressed by the WSR-
88D with algorithms.
Range Folding
Subrefraction: dry adiabatic, moisture increases with height. In
addition to underestimated echo heights, this phenomenon
tends to reduce ground clutter in the lowest elevation cuts.

Superrefraction: temperature inversion. In addition to

overestimated echo heights, increases ground clutter in the
lowest elevation cuts and is the cause of what we normally
refer to as anomalous propagation or AP echoes.
The Earth is Round!
 Storms Too Close!

Each pulse has a volume with dimensions of ~ 500

meters (~ 1500 meters) in length by ~ 1° wide in short
pulse (long pulse) mode. This means that two targets
along a radial must be at least 250 (750) meters apart for
the radar to be able to distinguish and display them as
two separate targets (i.e., more than H/2 range separation
distance).
Storms or Bats?
Strategies to Fix Problems
Drop Size Distribution
Drop Size Distribution
Rainfall Rate
Rainfall Rate
Rainfall Rate
R(Z) Relationships (Battan 1973)
BREAK!
What is Dual Polarimetric Radar?

Sends and receives horizontal &

vertical polarized radiation
Image
Image courtesy
courtesy Terry
Terry Schuur
Schuur
Polarimetric Variables Depend
on Several Things
Hydrometeor:
• Shape
• Orientation
• Dielectric constant
• Distribution of sizes
 Applications of Dual
Polarization Radar
•Rainfall Estimation (vast improvement)
•Bright Band Detection (vast improvement)
•Clutter Filtering/Data Quality Improvement
(vast improvement)
•Rain/Snow Discrimination (vast improvement)
•Hail Detection (some improvement)
•Updraft Location (some improvement)
•Tornado Detection (some improvement)
 Polarimetric Variables

Backscattering:
Zhh - reflectivity factor for horizontal polarization
ZDR
DR
- differential reflectivity
|ρhv
hv
(0)| - co-polar correlation coefficient
Propagation - forward scattering:
ΦDP
DP
- differential phase
KDP
DP
- specific differential phase (range derivative of
ΦDP
DP
)
Shapes of Large Drops in Equilibrium
 Differential Reflectivity (ZDR)

• Definition: the ratio of the power returns

from the horizontal and vertical
polarizations
• Units: decibels (dB)

 Z hh 
Z DR  10 log10  
 Z vv 
Simple ZDR Calculation for a
Sample of Raindrop Sizes
 What does ZDR Mean?
Ev
• ZDR
DR > 0  Horizontally-oriented
Eh
mean profile

Ev

Eh • ZDR
DR < 0  Vertically-oriented
mean profile
Ev
• ZDR
DR ~ 0  Near-spherical mean
Eh
profile
 Differential Reflectivity (ZDR)

-4 -3.5 -3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6

                                         

              Small (Spherical) <<< RAIN >>> Large (Oblate)    

              Dry <<< GRAUPEL >>> Wet            

        Dry (Prolate) <<<<< HAIL >>>>> Melting (Oblate)    

            Aggregated/Low-Density <<< CRYSTALS >>> Pristine/Well-Oriented

                Dry <<< SNOW >>> Wet            

GROUND CLUTTER / ANOMALOUS PROPAGATION                

        BIOLOGICAL SCATTERERS

              DEBRIS                

                    CHAFF

                                         
 ZDR is a Good Indicator of:

1. median liquid drop size (ZDR↑,median

drop diameter↑)
2. hail shafts (ZDR ~ 0dB or negative
coincident with high Zh)
3. areas of large rain drops or liquid-
coated ice (ZDR ~3-6 dB)
4. convective updrafts (ZDR ~1-5 dB)
above 0oC level
5. tornado debris ball
 ZDR Limitations (Gotchas)
•Values are biased towards the larger
hydrometeors (D66 dependence)
•Tumbling/Random orientation will bias
toward 0 ZDR
DR
•Can be noisy if:
-Low / Insufficient sampling (low
SNR)
- Reduced correlation coefficient (CC)
 May 9th tornadic
supercell: Intense
ZDR Column

0oC level in-cloud ~17 kft

 ρhv

Correlation Coefficient (ρ hv): A correlation between the

reflected horizontal and vertical power returns. It is a good
indicator of regions where there is a mixture of precipitation
types, such as rain and snow.

Affected by:
• Hydrometeor types, phases, shapes,
orientations
• Presence of large hail
 ρhv Usage
• Identify hail growth regions in deep moist
convection (mixtures of hydrometeors)
• Reduce ground clutter/AP contamination
(ρhv very low in these areas)
• Identify giant hail ???
 ρhv

SNOW
~0.85-1.00

CLUTTER
~0.5-0.85

CHAFF
~0.2-0.5

Reflectivity (Zh) Correlation Coefficient (hv)

ρhv Minimum…in Theory

Giant Hail, Protuberances, Mie Scattering: min ρhv

 Differential Phase Shift (ΦDP)

• Definition: the difference in the phase shift

between the horizontally and vertically
polarized waves
• Units: degrees (o)

 DP   H  V
Differential Phase Shift DP

DP = h – v (h, v ≥ 0) [deg]

The difference in phase between the horizontally-

and vertically-polarized pulses at a given range
along the propagation path.

- Independent of partial beam blockage,

attenuation, absolute radar calibration,
system noise
What Affects Differential Phase?
 Forward Propagation has its
Advantages
• Immune to partial (< 40%) beam
blockage, attenuation, calibration,
presence of hail

Gradients Most Important

 Specific Differential Phase Shift
(KDP)

• Definition: range derivative of the differential phase

shift
• Units: degrees per kilometer (o/km)

 (r )   (r )
K  DP 2 DP 1

2 r  r 
DP

2 1
Specific Differential Phase: KDP
Specific Differential Phase (KDP): A comparison of the returned phase
difference between the horizontal and vertical pulses. This phase
difference is caused by the difference in the number of wave cycles
(or wavelengths) along the propagation path for horizontal and

vertically polarized waves. This is the range derivative of  DP ,

typically calculated in 1-5 km increments along the radial.

• Provides a good estimate of liquid water

in a rain/hail mixture
• Indicates the onset of melting
 Specific Differential Phase Shift
(KDP)
-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 4 5

                   

  Small <<< RAIN >>> Large    

Dry <<< GRAUPEL >>> Wet        

Dry (Prolate) <<<<< HAIL >>>>> Melting (Oblate)

Dry/Aggregated <<< CRYSTALS >>> Pristine/Well-Oriented        

  Dry <<< SNOW >>> Wet        

                   

*** Non-meteorological values not shown here because

they are removed anywhere CC < 0.90 (or 0.85) ***
 Kdp Usage
• To isolate the presence of rain from hail
 R(Z, Zdr, Kdp) much better than R(Z)
 Most sensitive to amount of liquid water

• To locate regions of drop shedding, “Kdp columns”

• Drops are shed from melting or growing
hailstones near the updraft, forming a Kdp column

• To distinguish between snow/rain

• Kdp in wet, heavy snow is almost always larger at
a fixed value of Zh than that observed for rain
KDP Limitations (Gotchas)
• KDP values set to “No Data” at CC <
0.90, or 0.85)
• Sensitive to non-uniform beam filling
• Unreliable at far ranges

• KDP Smoothing techinque:

Compare Z and 1. < 40 dBZ, KDP computed at each gate

from 12 adjacent gates either side (6.25
KDP fields at km)
each gate 2. > 40 dBZ, KDP computed at each gate
from 4 adjacent gates either side (2.25
km) to preserve heavy cores
Marginally Severe Supercell
 14 May 2003

ρρ
ZZ
HCA
Z
HV
HV

5.25”
5.25” diameter
diameter hail
DR

hail
DR

Beam
Beam Height
Height ~~ 4600
4600 ft
ft AGL
AGL
 Correlation Coefficient (CC)
• Definition: how similarly the horizontally and
vertically polarized backscattered energy are
behaving within a resolution volume for Rayleigh
scattering
• Units: none (0-1.00)
*
S S
vv hh
 HV (0) 
 S 2 1/ 2
S 2 1/ 2 
 hh vv

Sij = An element of the backscatter matrix

TM
Think Spectrum Width for Hydrometeors
 Correlation Coefficient Values
•0.96 ≤ CC ≤ 1  Small hydrometeor diversity*

•0.80 ≤ CC < 0.96  Large hydrometeor diversity*

•CC < 0.70  Non-hydrometeors present

** Types,
Types, sizes,
sizes, shapes,
shapes, orientations,
orientations, etc.
etc.
 Correlation Coefficient (CC)
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1

                                     

                          Large <<< RAIN >>> Small

                          Wet <<< GRAUPEL >>> Dry  

          Wet / Large <<<<< HAIL >>>>> Dry / Small

                          CRYSTALS

      <<Melting Layer>> Wet <<< SNOW >>> Dry

GROUND CLUTTER / ANOMALOUS PROPAGATION                    

BIOLOGICAL
      SCATTERERS                        

DEBRIS                    

CHAFF                              

                                     

Non- Overlap Meteorological

Meteorological Regime
Regime
 What is CC Used for?
• Not-met targets (LOW CC < 0.70)
– Best discriminator

• Melting layer detection (Ring of reduced

CC ~ 0.80 – 0.95)
• Giant hail? (LOW CC < 0.70 in the midst
of high Z/Low ZDR)
Marginally Severe Supercell

What about the re

All > 0.97
Precip Insects
CC Limitations (Gotchas)
• High error in low signal-to-noise
ratios (SNR)

• If low, errors increase in other

dual-pol variables
Polarimetric Rainfall Algorithm vs.
Conventional
One hour point measurements:
Radar estimates vs. gages

R(Z) R(Z, KDP, ZDR)

Polarimetric Rainfall Algorithm vs.
Conventional
Bias of radar areal rainfall estimates

Spring hail
cases

Cold season
stratiform rain
 QPE Process in a Nutshell
Step 1
1. Hybrid scan the
variables into
Polar, 1 degree
azimuth, 250 m
bins

Hybrid Hydroclass
QPE Process in a Nutshell
2. Apply an instantaneous Rate:
R(Z), R(KDP), and R(Z,ZDR)

 But which one is accepted?

0.714
R( Z )  0.017 Z
0.882
R ( KDP)  44.0 KDP sign( KDP)

0.770 1.67
R( Z , ZDR )  0.0142 Z ZDR
 QPE Process in a Nutshell
3. Assign a variation of 1 of those 3 rates to
each bin based on HCA precip type

 Based on 43 events (179 hrs) of radar rainfall data

 Rate Designation Table
R (mm/hr) Conditions Echo
Classes
Not Nonmeteorological echo (Ground Clutter or Unknown) is classified GC ,UK
computed
0 Classification is No Echo or Biological NE, BI
R(Z, ZDR) Light/Moderate Rain is classified RA
R(Z, ZDR) Heavy Rain or Big Drops are classified HR, BD
R(KDP) Rain/Hail is classified and echo is below the top of the melting layer RH
0.8*R(Z) Rain/Hail is classified and echo is above the top of the melting layer RH
0.8*R(Z) Graupel is classified GR
0.6*R(Z) Wet Snow is classified WS
R(Z) Dry Snow is classified and echo is in or below the top of the melting DS
layer
2.8*R(Z) Dry Snow classified and is echo above the top of the melting layer DS
2.8*R(Z) Ice Crystals are classified IC
 QPE Output (all produced via
hybrid scan)
• 4bit, 250 m Hybrid-scan Hydro Class
• 8bit, 250 m Rate
• 4 bit, 250 m 1hr Accum
• 4 bit & 8bit versions of 250 m STP Accum (G-R
bias applied)
• 8 bit, 250 m no G-R bias applied STP
• 8 bit, 250 m User Selectable (will be used for any
and all accumulation time periods)
• 8 bit, 250 m 1hr and STP Difference field vs.
Legacy
Hydrometeor Classification Algorithm
Challenges
• Typical Radar sampling limitations (snow at
2000 ft AGL may not be snow at the surface)

• Verification

• “Fuzzy” Logic and cross over between types

• Differentiating between light rain and dry snow

in weak echoes
 Melting layer detection can
help
 Melting Layer Detection

• Mixed phase hydrometeors: Easy

detection for dual-pol!
– Z typically increases
– ZDR and KDP definitely increase
– Coexistence of ice and water will reduce the
correlation coefficient (CC ~0.95-0.85)
Melting Layer Detection Algorithm
Methodology
• Precipitation echoes – stratiform or
convective regions – with high SNR

• Middle tilts (4°-10° elevation angles)

• Limitation: Overshoot precip

• “Project” results to other tilts in time and

space
ML Product in AWIPS
 Hail Detection
• Dual-Pol Hail Signature
– High Z (> 45 dBZ)
– Low ZDR (-0.5 to 1 dB), Low KDP (-0.5 to
1 o/km) if dry or mostly dry
– Reduced CC (0.85 to 0.95)
• Limitations
– Size detection?
– Hail signatures may get diluted by
• Rain mixing with hail
• Far range
 Rain/Snow Discrimination
RAIN SNOW
Z < 45 dBZ < 45 dBZ

ZDR 0 to 2 dB -0.5 to 6 dB

KDP 0 to 0.6 deg/km -0.6 to 1 deg/km

CC >0.95 >0.95 (can be less if

wet)

If the variables overlap so much, how can polarimetric radar

discriminate between rain and snow???
Rain/Snow Discrimination: It’s all in
trends with height
• Rain
– Polarimetric signatures (ZDR and KDP) have a direct
dependence on Z
– ZDR and KDP do not typically increase with height
– Almost always a pronounced melting layer above rain
• Snow
– Polarimetric signatures (ZDR and KDP) do not have
dependence on Z
– ZDR and KDP typically increase with height
– Differences between “warm” and “cold” snow
• “Cold” snow has higher polarimetric variables than “warm”
snow
 Warm vs. Cold vs. Wet Snow
• Temperature determines this
– < -5oC = “Cold”
– ~+1oC > T > -5oC = “Warm”
– > +1oC = “Wet” Radar Cross Section Z/ZDR/CC
Characteristics Characteristics

High Density
Z < 35 dBZ
Crystals (plates, columns, needles) High Concentration
ZDR 0-6 dB
Oblate, Horizontal Orientation
CC > 0.95
Small size
Decreasing density Z increasing
Aggregate Crystals (Dry) Decreasing Concentration ZDR decreasing
Less oblate 0 > ZDR > 0.5 dB
Larger size CC > 0.95
Z increasing but < 45
Rapid increase in density dBZ
Aggregate Crystals (Wet)
Rapid increase in oblateness ZDR rapidly increasing
0.50 > CC > 0.9

Surface. Assume temperatures decrease steadily with height

 Rain Snow Discrimination
Z Snow
ZDR

Rain

KDP CC
 One Hour Later…
Z ZDR
-SN

KDP CC
 Data Quality Improvement
• Ground clutter/Anomalous propagation
– High reflectivity (Z) -- (> 35 dBZ)
– Near zero or slightly negative ZDR
– Noisy, lower correlation coefficient (CC) -- (< 0.90)
• Insects/Biological scatterers
– Low reflectivity (Z) -- (< 35 dBZ)
– Horizontally-oriented with elongated shape: very high
ZDR (> 2 dB up to 6 dB)
– Heterogeneity causes very low correlation coefficients
(< 0.70)
 Tornado Detection

• Tornado debris is large (from radar perspective),

irregularly shaped and randomly oriented
– Z > 45 dBZ
– ZDR near 0 dB
– CC very low (< 0.8)

• A good sign that a tornado is already in progress!

– Diagnostic ONLY
– Has only been verified for EF-1 or greater
tornadoes at relatively close ranges
 Tornadic Debris Signature (TDS)
Z ZDR

TDS!

CC
Debris cloud near GM Plant