Freezing Drizzle Detection with WSR-88D Radars

Abstract

Abstract This study describes a freezing drizzle detection algorithm based on the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) measured radar reflectivity. Although radar returns from freezing drizzle and light snow are similar—<5 dBZ and spatially uniform—freezing drizzle can be identified using feature parameters computed from radar reflectivity, such as local and global standard deviations and reflectivity texture weighted with a fuzzy-logic scheme. Algorithm results agree well with surface precipitation reports. The proposed algorithm can serve as one component of automated decision-support schemes for icing hazard detection and/or hydrometeor identification.