Met Office Cardington: precipitation measurements from a Thies disdrometer, 2019-2024

The Met Office Observation-based research Boundary Layer Facility, at the semi-rural field site (18 Ha) of Cardington (52° 06′ N, 00° 25′ W, 29 m ± 1 m amsl) in central-southern England between 2004 and 2024, operated the Thies laser disdrometer, a laser optical device used for the measurement of diameter and fall velocity of hydrometeors, from 2019 to 2024. From such measurements, it is possible to classify different types of precipitation, such as drizzle, rain, hail, snow, and mixed precipitation, quantify precipitation in a time interval, and derive size and velocity joint distribution. Thies laser disdrometer can in addition detect fine drizzle, drop fall speed and drop size distribution.

The disdrometer is the most sophisticated precipitation instrument deployed at Cardington.
A full list of NetCDF variables can be found in “A continuous hydrometeorological record (2004–2024) at the Met Office surface site of Cardington, UK.” Osborne et al. (2025). This paper should be referenced in any research/publications pertaining to this dataset.