NPOL Radar Snowstorm Observations from IMPACTS Campaign

January 10 to February 25, 2020 radar data from the NASA S-Band Dual Polarimetric (NPOL) Doppler Radar during the IMPACTS field campaign. The dataset contains corrected radar reflectivity, differential reflectivity, specific differential phase, differential phase, co-polar correlation, and Doppler velocity images in netCDF-3/CF format. Collected by NASA's Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC DAAC), it supports research into snowband formation and microphysics.

Use Cases

• Analyzing corrected radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity to study snowband organization and evolution.
• Using differential reflectivity and specific differential phase to examine microphysical characteristics and growth mechanisms of snow particles.
• Applying co-polar correlation data to improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling.
• Leveraging time-series radar images to validate and advance numerical weather prediction for winter storms.

Strengths

• Provides data from a dedicated field campaign (IMPACTS) focused on Atlantic Coast snowstorms.
• Contains multiple polarimetric radar variables including specific differential phase and co-polar correlation for detailed microphysical analysis.
• Data is available in a standardized, self-describing netCDF-3/CF format.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and column details are not provided by any source.
• Sources disagree on the last update date, with one listing 2020-02-25 and another 2026-03-12.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC_DAAC)

Collection Method

Collected by the NASA S-Band Dual Polarimetric (NPOL) Doppler Radar during the IMPACTS field campaign.

Time Range

January 10, 2020 to February 25, 2020

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:29:09.488289

Geography

Atlantic Coast region of the United States (implied by campaign focus on Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms)