Independent Assessment of Incremental Complexity in NWS Multisensor Precipitation Estimator Algorithms

AbstractThis paper presents a comprehensive intercomparison analysis of different radar-based multisensor precipitation products generated operationally by the National Weather Service (NWS) Multisensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) algorithm from the Weather Surveillance Radar–1988 Doppler version and concurrent rain gauge data. The analysis provides close insight into different effects of the increasing degree of complexitzy in the MPE algorithms. First, a gauge-only product produced by the MPE algorithm was assessed. Then six MPE products were analyzed: a radar-only product, a mean-field bias-adjusted product, a local bias-adjusted product, two products that are based on merging the bias-adjusted products with gauge observations, and a final product that includes human intervention by NWS forecasters. Data from a dense, carefully maintained experimental rain gauge cluster are used as an independent surface reference. A number of summary and conditional statistics are applied to the product intercompari...

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