SBU X-band Phased Array Radar (SKYLER) IMPACTS

The SBU X-band Phased Array Radar (SKYLER) IMPACTS dataset consists of polarimetric radar data collected by the Stony Brook University (SBU) X-band Phased Array Radar (SKYLER) during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign. IMPACTS was a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic Coast (2020-2023). The campaign aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to significantly advance prediction capabilities. SKYLER provided detailed observations of cloud and precipitation microphysics, specifically ice and snow processes. These data include reflectivity, mean velocity, spectrum width, linear depolarization ratio, differential reflectivity, differential phase, specific differential phase, co-polarized correlation coefficient, and signal-to-noise ratio. The dataset files are available from January 17, 2022, through February 28, 2023, in netCDF-4 format.