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Hail detection
Detection of hail using radar observations has been investigated in close collaboration with the Netherlands weather service (KNMI). This research resulted in a hail detection product operationally used at the weather office.
The hail detection algorithm produces a probability of hail which is derived from volume reflectivity data following the method of Waldvogel. It is based on the difference between the height of the freezing level and the echotop-45 dBZ, i.e., the maximum height at which a reflectivity at least equal to 45 dBZ is observed. The product is generated every 15 minutes from the Wideumont radar and every 5 minutes from the Zaventem radar.
Example of hail detection product generated from the Wideumont radar observations.
The quality of radar echo top heights and the implications for hail detection has been investigated. The results of this study can be found in:
Contact person for this topic: Laurent Delobbe