NEXRAD Level II Radar Data for Atlantic Coast Snowstorms

Thirty-one NEXRAD radar sites collected Level II surveillance data from January 1 to March 1, 2020, during the IMPACTS field campaign focused on U.S. Atlantic Coast snowstorms. The dataset contains meteorological and dual-polarization base data quantities including radar reflectivity, radial velocity, and differential phase. It was produced by the GHRC DAAC and is part of a three-year campaign, with data files available in netCDF-4 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing snowband formation and evolution using radar reflectivity and radial velocity columns.
• Studying microphysical characteristics of snow particles via dual-polarization data like differential reflectivity and cross correlation ratio.
• Improving snowfall remote sensing algorithms by examining the relationship between spectrum width and precipitation intensity.
• Validating and improving numerical weather prediction models for winter storms using time-series data from 31 radar sites.

Strengths

• Data originates from 31 operational NEXRAD sites, providing wide spatial coverage for the study region.
• Contains dual-polarization base data quantities, enabling advanced microphysical analysis of precipitation.
• Part of a planned three-year field campaign (IMPACTS), indicating a structured scientific effort.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and complete column list are unknown across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting both 2020-03-01 and 2026-03-13.

Provenance

Source

GHRC DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center).

Collection Method

Collected from 31 NEXRAD (WSR-88D) radar sites during the IMPACTS field campaign.

Time Range

2020-01-01 to 2020-03-01

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

U.S. Atlantic Coast, from 31 NEXRAD site locations.