Radar observations supply detailed information about the structure and evolution of precipitation. These observations allow one to evaluate the macro- and/or micro-physical properties of precipitation at high spatial and temporal resolution. This dataset provides a nearly continuous collection of radar observations from a Metek Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR) in Marquette, Michigan, USA (MQT). The MRR is a relatively low-cost, low-power K-band (24 GHz) profiling radar that scans the atmosphere at a fixed 90° zenith angle (i.e., directly overhead). The MRR in MQT is configured such that observations are provided every minute at a vertical resolution of 100m up to 3000m AGL (note: due to ground clutter, the effective operating range is 400m–3000m AGL). The MRR data are processed using IMProToo (Maahn and Kollias, 2012; https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-2661-2012) to increase the sensitivity of the radar to -10 dBZ and are “de-noised” using a principal component analysis method on the MRR raw power spectra to remove interference from a nearby broadcasting tower (Pettersen et al., 2020; https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-19-0099.1). Within this dataset, users will find observations such as the equivalent reflectivity factor, Doppler velocity, and reflectivity power spectra.
Microphysical observations of precipitating particles are crucial for numerical weather prediction models and remote sensing retrieval algorithms. This dataset provides a unified, comprehensive collection of particle microphysical observations from the Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) over the Northern Hemisphere. Data spans from 2014-2023 across 10 measurement sites and encompasses over 775 thousand precipitating minutes. Within this dataset, users will find a range of microphysical attributes for rain and snow, along with higher-order products.