Improving the precipitation accumulation analysis using lightning measurements and different integration periods

Abstract. The focus of this article is to improve the precipitation accumulation analysis, with special focus on the intense precipitation events. Two main objectives are addressed: (i) the assimilation of lightning observations together with radar and gauge measurements, and (ii) the analysis of the impact of different integration periods in the radar–gauge correction method. The article is a continuation of previous work by Gregow et al. (2013) in the same research field.

A new lightning data assimilation method has been implemented and validated within the Finnish Meteorological Institute – Local Analysis and Prediction System. Lightning data do improve the analysis when no radars are available, and even with radar data, lightning data have a positive impact on the results.

The radar–gauge assimilation method is highly dependent on statistical relationships between radar and gauges, when performing the correction to the precipitation accumulation field. Here, we investigate the usage of different time integration intervals: 1, 6, 12, 24 h and 7 days. This will change the amount of data used and affect the statistical calculation of the radar–gauge relations. Verification shows that the real-time analysis using the 1 h integration time length gives the best results.