Evaluación de las capacidades del GPM DPR para identificar tormentas de granizo

Abstract

Southern France is one of the regions most severely affected by hailstorms and is among the most thoroughly researched areas, having an extensive operational hailpads network. Satellite sensors are increasingly significant in hailstorm monitoring. The international Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission features a Core Observatory (CO) that is equipped with the first Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) in space. The aim of this study was to investigate the hailstorms that occurred in France between 2014 and 2021, as observed by the DPR and recorded by the ANELFA. Eight hailstorms were identified, in which the DPR swath coincided with ground observations. Various variables provided by the DPR were examined, and five detection algorithms were assessed. The research confirmed the usefulness of hailpad networks in accurately verifying hailfall. Additionally, it was verified that algorithms using Ku band data are more effective in detecting a greater number of pixels containing hail. This research will serve as a foundation for developing prediction algorithms using GPM data.