Articles | Volume 18, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2279-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2279-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Combining commercial microwave links and weather radar for classification of dry snow and rainfall
Erlend Øydvin
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
Renaud Gaban
Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
Jafet Andersson
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Norrköping, Sweden
Remco (C. Z.) van de Beek
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Norrköping, Sweden
Mareile Astrid Wolff
Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
Nils-Otto Kitterød
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
Christian Chwala
Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus Alpin, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Vegard Nilsen
Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
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We have developed a tool to visualize rainfall observations, based on a combination of meteorological stations and weather radars, over Sweden in near real-time. By accumulating the rainfall in time (1–12 h) and space (hydrological basins), the tool is designed mainly for hydrological applications, e.g. to support flood forecasters and to facilitate post-event analyses. Despite evident uncertainties, different users have confirmed an added value of the tool in case studies.
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West Africa faces serious floods, affecting millions of people every year. The FANFAR project co-designed a flood forecasting and warning system at lively workshops together with 50–60 key West African stakeholders. We prioritized FANFAR system configurations that best meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations. Stakeholders preferred a system producing accurate, clear, and accessible flood risk information, which works reliably under difficult West African conditions.
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Short summary
We present a novel method for classifying rain and snow by combining data from commercial microwave links (CMLs) with weather radar. We compare this to a reference method using dew point temperature for precipitation type classification. Evaluations with nearby disdrometers show that CMLs improve the classification of dry snow and rainfall, outperforming the reference method.
We present a novel method for classifying rain and snow by combining data from commercial...