GCPEx Cold-Season Snowfall Measurements from HotPlate Sensors

Ontario, Canada hosts this dataset of ground-based precipitation and atmospheric measurements collected during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration gathered data on liquid precipitation rate, accumulation for snow, temperature, wind, humidity, pressure, and radiation fluxes from November 7, 2011 to February 21, 2012. Its primary purpose is to validate and characterize the ability of satellite-based microwave sensors to detect and estimate falling snow.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-based microwave snowfall retrieval algorithms using ground-measured precipitation rate and accumulation.
• Analyzing relationships between snowfall intensity and concurrent atmospheric conditions like temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity.
• Studying the surface energy budget during snow events using solar and infrared radiation flux measurements.
• Correlating liquid precipitation measurements with pressure data to understand synoptic conditions during the GCPEx field campaign.

Strengths

• Data includes multiple atmospheric variables (precipitation, temperature, wind, humidity, pressure, radiation) for concurrent analysis.
• Measurements were taken during a dedicated, multi-month field campaign (GCPEx) focused on cold-season precipitation.
• Dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata), indicating recognized importance for validation work.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and the complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03 13 (a future date), while NASA Earthdata lists 2012-02-21.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Gathered by Total Precipitation Sensor (HotPlate) instruments during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) field campaign.

Time Range

November 7, 2011 - February 21, 2012

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:19:18.456075

Geography

CARE and SkyDive sites in Ontario, Canada