IMPACTS Snowstorm Micro Rain Radar Data 2020-2023

Micro Rain Radar data from the three-year IMPACTS field campaign targeting Atlantic Coast snowstorms. The dataset contains vertical profiles of reflectivity, Doppler velocity, liquid water content, and drop size distribution from MRR-2 and MRR-PRO instruments. Files span from January 1, 2020, to March 2, 2023, and are provided in netCDF-3 and netCDF-4/CF formats.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of reflectivity and Doppler velocity to study snowband organization.
• Examining drop size distribution and liquid water content columns to infer snow particle growth mechanisms.
• Using melting layer height data to improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation.
• Investigating spectral width and radial velocity for turbulence and wind shear analysis within storms.
• Applying rain rate and rain attenuation measurements to validate and improve precipitation models.

Strengths

• Data covers a three-year, multi-winter campaign (2020-2023) specifically targeting Atlantic Coast snowstorms.
• Provides multiple derived microphysical variables like droplet size, liquid water content, and melting layer height.
• Data is available in standardized, self-describing netCDF formats (versions 3 and 4/CF).

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and total data volume are not specified in any source.
• License information is inconsistent: one source lists 'other-license-specified', while another lists 'None'.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by SBU Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR-2) and MRR-PRO instruments during the IMPACTS field campaign.

Time Range

2020-01-01 to 2023-03-02

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:01:05.399988

Geography

U.S. Atlantic Coast