Daily Precipitation Accumulations Over the Netherlands from Radar and Rain Gauges

325 manual rain gauges operated by KNMI correct radar-derived precipitation data measured from 1,500 meters over the Netherlands and surrounding area. The dataset provides gridded 24-hour accumulations from 8 to 8 UTC daily. KNMI has identified measurement anomalies from a defect in some gauges affecting data from the second half of 2012 onward.

Use Cases

• Validate and correct satellite precipitation estimates based on ground-truth rain gauge data.
• Model flood risk and water resource management based on daily precipitation accumulations.
• Analyze long-term precipitation trends and anomalies over the Netherlands.
• Calibrate radar precipitation algorithms using the described gauge-correction method.

Strengths

• Data is corrected by a network of 325 manual rain gauges, providing ground validation.
• Radar data offers spatial coverage over the Netherlands and surrounding area from 1,500 meters altitude.
• The daily time interval (8 to 8 UTC) provides consistent accumulation periods.

Limitations

• A known defect in some rain gauges has caused measurement anomalies from the second half of 2012 onward, affecting data quality.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties via KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute).

Collection Method

Radar data corrected by manual rain gauge observations.

Time Range

Data spans from at least the second half of 2012 onward, with ongoing daily updates.

Geography

Netherlands and surrounding area.