Intelligent Reconstruction of Radar Composite Reflectivity Based on Satellite Observations and Deep Learning

Abstract

Weather radar is a useful tool for monitoring and forecasting severe weather but has limited coverage due to beam blockage from mountainous terrain or other factors. To overcome this issue, an intelligent technology called “Echo Reconstruction UNet (ER-UNet)” is proposed in this study. It reconstructs radar composite reflectivity (CREF) using observations from Fengyun-4A geostationary satellites with broad coverage. In general, ER-UNet outperforms UNet in terms of root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), structural similarity index (SSIM), probability of detection (POD), false alarm rate (FAR), critical success index (CSI), and Heidke skill score (HSS). Additionally, ER-UNet provides the better reconstruction of CREF compared to the UNet model in terms of the intensity, location, and details of radar echoes (particularly, strong echoes). ER-UNet can effectively reconstruct strong echoes and provide crucial decision-making information for early warning of severe weather.