GCIP/ESOP-97: NCRFC WSR-88D Stage III Hourly Precipitation Imagery. Version 1.0

This data set contains data from the NOAA North Central River Forecast Center (NCRFC). The NCRFC routinely ingests WSR-88D precipitation derived products (Level III) from each of the radar sites with coverage in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. In addition the NCRFC ingests real-time precipitation data from several hundred gages. The NCRFC produces a number of derived or "Stage" products using the radar and precipitation gage data. A Stage II product is produced by merging radar precipitation estimates (Stage I) with ground truth data provided by the gages. The Stage II estimates are then composited into a Stage III precipitation 4 x 4 km resolution area averaged mosaic for the Upper Mississippi River Basin.