Regional Precipitation Mosaicking Using Multifrequency Weather Radar Network In Complex Orography

Abstract

Networks of weather radars are ideally suited to remotely provide atmospheric precipitation retrieval over a wide geographic area, useful for severe weather monitoring and near-real-time nowcasting. However, blockage due to buildings, hills and mountains can hamper the potential of a weather radar system. This work shows recent advancements in terms of system topology, mosaicking methods and data processing implemented for the hybrid radar network covering the Abruzzo region in central Italy, whose hydrological risks are further enhanced by its complex orography. All developed algorithms can deal with C-band and X-band single-polarization and dual-polarization systems as well as with mosaicking their products to guarantee a good coverage and a uniform estimation accuracy within the mountainous region.