An Analysis of Errors in Drop Size Distribution Retrievals and Rain Bulk Parameters with a UHF Wind Profiling Radar and a Two-Dimensional Video Disdrometer

Vertically pointed wind profiling radars can be used to obtain measurements of the underlying drop size distribution (DSD) for a rain event by means of the Doppler velocity spectrum. Precipitation parameters such as rainfall rate, radar reflectivity factor, liquid water content, mass-weighted mean drop diameter, and median volume drop diameter can then be calculated from the retrieved DSD. The DSD retrieval process is complicated by the presence of atmospheric turbulence, vertical ambient air motion, selection of fall speed relationships, and velocity thresholding. In this note, error analysis is presented to quantify the effect of each of those factors on rainfall rate. The error analysis results are then applied to two precipitation events to better interpret the rainfall-rate retrievals.

It was found that a large source of error in rain rate is due to unaccounted-for vertical air motion. For example, in stratiform rain with a rainfall rate of R = 10 mm h⁻¹, a mesoscale downdraft of 0.6 m s⁻¹ can result in a 34% underestimation of the estimated value of R. The fall speed relationship selection and source of air density information both caused negligible errors. Errors due to velocity thresholding become more important in the presence of significant contamination near 0 m s⁻¹, such as ground clutter. If particles having an equivalent volume diameter of 0.8 mm and smaller are rejected, rainfall rate errors from −4% to −10% are possible, although these estimates depend on DSD and rainfall rate.- Reference