Precipitation Measurement by Radar and Ground Methods

Errors of radar measurement of precipitation are investigated at the High-Altitude Geophysical Institute with the help of a locator and a network of pluviographs. It is shown that the radar, subject to its correction by ground data, is a very reliable and accurate measuring device. The radar method of measuring precipitation has an advantage over ground measurements, it covers a large area (within a radius of 128 km), efficiency (in real time). Studies have shown that the radar, provided it is calibrated with ground data, is a very reliable and accurate measuring device. The conducted comparisons of radar and ground measurements of precipitation showed that almost always the matching coefficient is greater than one and on average for seven years it varied from 1.3 to 1.5. This suggests that the radar systematically underestimates the size of the thickness of the precipitation layer by 1.3–1.5 times. The average relative error of measuring total precipitation for the summer season by radar method does not exceed 42%.