Variograms of Radar Reflectivity to Describe the Spatial Continuity of Alpine Precipitation

Abstract The authors use variograms of radar reflectivity as a summary statistic to describe the spatial continuity of Alpine precipitation on mesogamma scales. First, how to obtain such variograms is discussed. Second, a set of typical variograms of Alpine precipitation is found. Third, some examples are given on how these variograms can be used to tackle several questions such as, What spatial variation of precipitation rate can be found in Alpine catchments? What difference can be expected between the measurements at two points separated by a given distance? To what accuracy can areal precipitation be estimated from point observations? Are there preferred regions for convection in Alpine precipitation? Variograms are obtained using a method-of-moments estimator together with high-resolution polar reflectivity data of well-visible regions. Depending on the application, the variogram was determined in terms of linear precipitation rate, logarithmic reflectivity, or linear reflectivity. Spatial continuity...