Simulation of weather radar products from a mesoscale model

A radar simulation tool (RST) was developed to perform simulations of radar measurements on output data of the Lokal-Modell (LM) of the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWI,). The LM is an operational non-hydro static weather forecast model on the meso-gamma-scale. Knowing the characte ristics of a particular radar (geographic position and hardware parameters) a pseudo measurement can be calculated and typical radar scan patterns (az imuth and elevation scans) can be simulated. The model takes into account a tmospheric refraction, attenuation by gases and hydrometeors, and backscatt ering from different types of hydrometeors simulated by the LM. Additionall y, the radar antenna function is explicitly considered. Because the RST output is similar to real radar data, it can be processed i n the same way. We generated rainrate composites for a weather radar networ k, a standard product in the daily work of forecasters. It can be used for an easy comparison between radar measurements and LM forecasts. A case stud y simulating the composite of the Dutch radar network for a cold front even t is presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.