Olympic Mountains Daily Precipitation Estimates from OLYMPEX Campaign

This dataset provides daily precipitation estimates for rainfall and snowfall on a 1/32-degree grid over the Olympic Mountains in Washington state. It was created by the GHRC DAAC for the GPM Ground Validation OLYMPEX field campaign, synthesizing data from NOAA WSR-88D radar and rain gauges using the VIC hydrology model. The data covers a seven-month period from October 1, 2015, through April 30, 2016.

Use Cases

• Validating Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite products using high-resolution ground-based estimates.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of rainfall versus snowfall in a complex mountainous terrain.
• Calibrating or testing hydrological models that require partitioned liquid and solid precipitation inputs.
• Studying winter storm dynamics and precipitation efficiency in Pacific Northwest coastal ranges.

Strengths

• Data fusion incorporates both NOAA WSR-88D radar and local rain gauge measurements for bias correction.
• Provides spatially explicit estimates at a 1/32-degree resolution for a focused study region.
• Covers a full winter season (7 months) critical for capturing snowfall dynamics in the mountains.
• Derived using the established VIC hydrology model to invert snow water equivalent into precipitation.

Limitations

• Specific column names and the exact row/grid cell count are not provided in any source description.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2016-04 30 and another listing 2026-03-13.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single field campaign period and does not provide long-term climatology.

Provenance

Source

GHRC DAAC, utilizing NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Q3GC and Q3MM quantitative precipitation estimation models.

Collection Method

Estimates generated by applying the VIC hydrology model to invert snow water equivalent, using bias-corrected radar and gauge data.

Time Range

October 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:05:55.212643

Geography

Olympic Mountains field campaign region in Washington state, USA.