Iowa Flood Studies Radar Precipitation Data

NEXRAD radar precipitation products were collected from four stations during the Iowa Flood Studies field campaign. The dataset supports ground validation for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission. It contains digital instantaneous precipitation rate and storm total accumulation estimates in NIDS binary format for the period from March 29 to June 18, 2013.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived precipitation estimates from GPM using ground-based radar measurements.
• Analyzing storm evolution and total rainfall accumulation for flood event studies.
• Comparing instantaneous precipitation rates across a network of S-Band radar stations.
• Supporting hydrological model calibration for the Iowa region during the 2013 spring season.

Strengths

• Data sourced from the operational NEXRAD network, a system of 160 S-Band radars.
• Covers a specific 82-day field campaign (March 29 - June 18, 2013) for focused analysis.
• Provides two key precipitation products: instantaneous rate (DPR) and total accumulation (DTA).

Limitations

• Exact file count, size, and row/record numbers are not provided by any source.
• Data is in proprietary NIDS binary format, which may require specialized software for analysis.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' metadata date (2013 vs. 2026).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from selected NEXRAD radars operating during the IFloodS campaign.

Time Range

March 29, — June 18, 2013

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:20:57.949293

Geography

Vicinity of the Iowa Flood Studies campaign, United States.