NEXRAD Level II Radar Data for Iowa Flood Studies Campaign

March 29 to June 18, 2013 radar data collected from four NEXRAD sites in central-northeastern Iowa for the GPM Ground Validation Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) field campaign. The dataset contains Level-II base data quantities including reflectivity, mean radial velocity, and spectrum width. It was produced by NASA for validating satellite precipitation measurements from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived precipitation estimates from the GPM mission using ground-based radar reflectivity data.
• Analyzing storm structure and dynamics during flood events using the three base data quantities: reflectivity, mean radial velocity, and spectrum width.
• Studying the spatial and temporal evolution of precipitation systems in the Midwestern United States.
• Calibrating or testing hydrological models for flood forecasting with high-resolution radar observations.

Strengths

• Data collected from a network of 160 operational NEXRAD (WSR-88D) radar sites, providing standardized measurements.
• Covers a focused 82-day period around an intensive field campaign (IFloodS), offering context for event analysis.
• Includes three core meteorological base data quantities essential for weather analysis.

Limitations

• Data is in a custom binary format requiring specialized software for visualization and decoding, limiting accessibility.
• Conflicting metadata: last update dates differ significantly between platforms (2013 vs. 2026), suggesting potential staleness or maintenance discrepancies.
• Exact dataset size, row count, and specific column names are not provided by any source.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by ground-based Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) systems during the Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) field campaign.

Time Range

March 29, 2013 to June 18, 2013

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:01:32.311949

Geography

Central-northeastern Iowa, United States, from four specific NEXRAD sites.