An assessment of satellite rain estimates for large-scale, operational use

The feasibility of using a satellite rain estimation technique to operationally estimate convective rainfall over large areas and for long time scales is investigated. The area is the central third of the United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River and from South Dakota to central Texas. A month of rainfall (August 1979) was estimated from GOES infrared data. Comparisons with gage data for the month and for three individual days are made. The sensitivity of the technique to the frequency of the satellite data is discussed. One case of satellite rain estimation for a wintertime storm is also shown.