Evaluating NEXRAD Estimates for the Missouri River Basin: Analysis Using Daily Raingauge Data

This paper presents an evaluation of next generation weather radar (NEXRAD) Stage III and MPE precipitation estimates for the Missouri River Basin River Forecast Center (MBRFC) using daily gauge data from the National Weather Service cooperative network. This gauge network is independent of data used to develop the NEXRAD operational products, and, thus, provides an independent assessment of NEXRAD error characteristics. NEXRAD bias, correlation, and percent detection are mapped across the MBRFC to demonstrate the spatial distribution of NEXRAD errors. In general terms, the NEXRAD estimates perform much better in the southeastern portion of the basin than they do in the central and mountainous areas. Although the overall NEXRAD-gauge statistics appear to be worse than those reported in other published studies, the results of this study show marked improvement in NEXRAD estimates of warm season precipitation over the eight-year study period.