The Evaluation of Two Years of Real-Time Operation of a Short-Term Precipitation Forecasting Procedure (SHARP)

Abstract

Digital weather radar data have been used with a simple pattern recognition procedure to automatically generate precipitation forecasts in the zero to three hours range. Such a technique has been in real time operation for two years. The verification of the procedure has led to a preliminary “radar climatology” for the Montreal area in the form of a map of areas showing a predominant growth or decay of precipitation patterns.