EXRAD 3D Winds IMPACTS: Airborne Radar Data for Atlantic Snowstorms

January 25 through February 7, 2020 data from the ER-2 X-band Radar (EXRAD) instrument, providing horizontal wind components, their uncertainties, and radar reflectivity. The dataset was collected by NASA during the IMPACTS field campaign, a three-year study (2020-2023) of snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic Coast. It aims to improve understanding of snowband formation, microphysics, and snowfall prediction.

Use Cases

• Analyze snowband formation and evolution based on horizontal wind component data.
• Study microphysical characteristics of snow particles based on radar reflectivity measurements.
• Validate and improve snowfall remote sensing models based on airborne radar observations.
• Investigate wind field uncertainties in winter storm environments based on provided error estimates.

Strengths

• Data originates from a NASA airborne campaign with a specific scientific mission (IMPACTS).
• Covers a defined period during the 2020 winter season for focused analysis.
• Includes uncertainty estimates for the horizontal wind components.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data coverage is limited to a two-week period in early 2020.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the EXRAD instrument onboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the IMPACTS field campaign.

Time Range

January 25 through February 7, 2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:44:39.298130; freshness should be verified.

Geography

U.S. Atlantic Coast region