Weather Satellite Imagery: Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar

Cloud structure and composition can be determined by measuring the reflectivity of a storm. Liquid water reflects light more than ice crystals or hail so the region of the storm responsible for the most rainfall can be diagnosed as the region with highest reflectivity. NASA’s Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) uses microwave imagery to create a composite 3D image of the cloud’s reflectivity in 5-kmx5-km grids every 125m (about 410.1 ft) vertically. The accompanying animation displays that data for the Eye of Hurricane Ida just before it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2021.

ReDATA curator's note: the DPR data source listed in the references (version 6) has been superseded and is no longer available. Currently (as of the date of publication of this item), version 7 is the latest version: 10.5067/GPM/DPR/GPM/2A/07 

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This item is part of the University of Arizona Libraries 2022 Data Visualization Challenge