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Full catalog/sbumrr2impacts
sbumrr2impacts·v1·dataset

Ground radar measuring falling rain and snow

SBU Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR2) IMPACTS
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1A netCDF-4netCDF-3
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed readings of falling rain and snow from a ground-based radar, including how strongly it echoes, droplet and particle sizes, water content, and rain and snow rates, gathered during winter-storm research from 2020 to 2023.

How it's made. Collected by small ground-based Micro Rain Radar units (MRR-2 and MRR-PRO) during the IMPACTS field campaign studying East Coast snowstorms.

How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers understand how snowbands form and grow, and improves how satellites and forecasts interpret snowfall.

What's measured

Atmosphere › Precipitation › Liquid Precipitation › Liquid Surface Precipitation RateAtmosphere › Atmospheric Water Vapor › Water Vapor Indicators › Total Precipitable WaterAtmosphere › Atmospheric Radiation › ReflectanceSpectral/Engineering › Radar › Doppler VelocitySpectral/Engineering › Radar › Spectrum WidthAtmosphere › Clouds › Cloud Microphysics › Cloud Droplet Concentration/SizeAtmosphere › Precipitation › Liquid Water EquivalentAtmosphere › Precipitation › Precipitation Profiles › Melting Layer HeightAtmosphere › Precipitation › Droplet SizeSpectral/Engineering › Radar › Radial VelocityAtmosphere › Precipitation › Precipitation Rate

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2020-01-01 → 2023-03-02
  • Measured byGROUND STATIONS (MRR)
  • Processing levelLevel 1A
  • Spatial extent-74.0168, 40.7182, -72.864, 40.975
  • FormatsnetCDF-4, netCDF-3
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The SBU Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR-2) IMPACTS dataset consists of reflectivity, Doppler velocity, signal-to-noise ratio, spectral width, droplet size, Liquid Water Content, melting layer, drop size distribution, rain attenuation, rain rate, and radial velocity data collected during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign. IMPACTS was a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic Coast (2020-2023). The campaign aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to significantly advance prediction capabilities. Both the MRR-2 and the MRR-PRO instruments were used to collect data for this dataset. The dataset files are available from January 1, 2020 through March 2, 2023 in netCDF-3 and netCDF-4/CF formats.

Get the data

sbumrr2impacts_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="sbumrr2impacts",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GHRC_DAAC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.