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Full catalog/TRMM_2A23
TRMM_2A23·v7·dataset

What type of rain is falling (TRMM radar)

TRMM Precipitation Radar Rain Characteristics L2 1.5 hours V7 (TRMM_2A23) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Classifies what kind of rain a storm is producing, sorting it into steady widespread rain, intense thunderstorm-type rain, or other, and flagging rain versus no rain.

How it's made. Derived from the Precipitation Radar on the TRMM satellite, the first weather radar in space, which scanned the 3-D structure of rainfall over the tropics.

How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers understand storm types and rainfall behavior in the tropics. Note: this version is retired in favor of GPM-format products.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID PRECIPITATION › RAIN

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1997-12-31 → 2015-04-01
  • Measured byTRMM (PR)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -38, 180, 38
  • 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 new version of these data is in GPM-like format (consistent with the GPM Dual-frequency Radar data format), and can be found under the name GPM_2APR. The TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first of its kind in space, is an electronically scanning single-frequency radar, operating at 13.8 GHz that measures the 3-D rainfall distribution over both land and ocean, and defines the layer depth of the precipitation. PR 2A23 produces a rain/no-rain flag. Its main objectives are (1) to detect bright band (BB), (2) to classify rain type, and (3) to detect warm rain. 2A23 uses two different methods for classifying rain type: (1) vertical profile method (V-method) and (2) horizontal pattern method (H-method). Both methods classify rain into three categories: stratiform, convective, and other. To make the results user-friendly, 2A23 outputs a unified rain type. Further information about 2A23 can be found in Awaka et al. (1998). Pre-Boost (before 7 August 2001): Temporal Resolution: 91.5 min/orbit ~ 16 orbits/day; Swath Width: 215 km; Horizontal Resolution: 4.3 km Post-Boost (after 24 August 2001): Temporal Resolution: 92.5 min/orbit ~ 16 orbits/day; Swath Width: 247 km; Horizontal Resolution: 5.0 km

Get the data

trmm_2a23_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="TRMM_2A23",
    version="7",
    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 GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.