NEXRAD Radar Data for Midlatitude Convective Cloud Experiment

Radar data from the KTWX NEXRAD site was collected for the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) in central Oklahoma. The dataset provides detailed observations of convective cloud systems and precipitation from April 22 to June 6, 2011. It was produced by the GPM Ground Validation team and is hosted by the GHRC DAAC.

Use Cases

• Validating space-based precipitation estimates from the GPM mission using ground radar reflectivity data.
• Characterizing the structure and environment of midlatitude convective storms for model parameterization.
• Analyzing storm dynamics using derived radar spectral features like mean radial velocity and spectrum width.
• Studying the spatial and temporal evolution of precipitation events during the MC3E field campaign.

Strengths

• Data originates from the operational NEXRAD network, a standardized system of 160 Doppler radars.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a major field campaign (MC3E) designed for detailed convective cloud characterization.
• Dataset is available on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata and Data.gov), indicating established provenance.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata like row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last update date, listing both 2011-06-01 and 2026-03 13.
• Data is stored in compressed binary format, requiring specialized software or libraries for access and interpretation.

Provenance

Source

GPM Ground Validation team, GHRC DAAC.

Collection Method

Collected by the KTWX Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) site during the MC3E field campaign.

Time Range

2011-04-22 to 2011-06-06

Freshness

2026-03-13 22:34:27.387887

Geography

Central Oklahoma, United States.