Anew satellite-based rainfall monitoring algorithm that integrates the strengths of both low Earth-orbiting (LEO) and geostationary Earth-orbiting (GEO) satellite information has been developed. The Lagrangian Model (LMODEL) algorithm combines a 2D cloud-advection tracking system and a GEO data-driven cloud development and rainfall generation model with procedures to update model parameters and state variables in near-real time. The details of the LMODEL algorithm were presented in Part I. This paper describes a comparative validation against ground radar rainfall measurements of 1- and 3-h LMODEL accumulated rainfall outputs. LMODEL rainfall estimates consistently outperform accumulated 3-h microwave (MW)-only rainfall estimates, even before the more restricted spatial coverage provided by the latter is taken into account. In addition, the performance of LMODEL products remains effective and consistent between MW overpasses. Case studies demonstrate that the LMODEL provides the potential to synergize available satellite data to generate useful precipitation measurements at an hourly scale. © 2009 American Meteorological Society.

The Lagrangian Model (LMODEL) is a new multisensor satellite rainfall monitoring methodology based on the use of a conceptual cloud-development model that is driven by geostationary satellite imagery and is locally updated using microwave-based rainfall measurements from low earth-orbiting platforms. This paper describes the cloud development model and updating procedures; the companion paper presents model validation results. The model uses single-band thermal infrared geostationary satellite imagery to characterize cloud motion, growth, and dispersal at high spatial resolution (;4 km). These inputs drive a simple, linear, semi-Lagrangian, conceptual cloud mass balance model, incorporating separate representations of convective and stratiform processes. The model is locally updated against microwave satellite data using a two-stage process that scales precipitable water fluxes into the model and then updatesmodel states using aKalman filter. Model calibration and updating employ an empirical rainfall collocation methodology designed to compensate for the effects of measurement time difference, geolocation error, cloud parallax, and rainfall shear. © 2009 American Meteorological Society.

Short-term high-resolution precipitation forecasting has important implications for navigation, flood forecasting, and other hydrological and meteorological concerns. This article introduces a pixel-based algorithm for Short-term Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting (SQPF) using radar-based rainfall data. The proposed algorithm called Pixel- Based Nowcasting (PBN) tracks severe storms with a hierarchical mesh-tracking algorithm to capture storm advection in space and time at high resolution from radar imagers. The extracted advection field is then extended to nowcast the rainfall field in the next 3. hr based on a pixel-based Lagrangian dynamic model. The proposed algorithm is compared with two other nowcasting algorithms (WCN: Watershed-Clustering Nowcasting and PER: PERsistency) for ten thunderstorm events over the conterminous United States. Object-based verification metric and traditional statistics have been used to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. It is shown that the proposed algorithm is superior over comparison algorithms and is effective in tracking and predicting severe storm events for the next few hours. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.