Rain cell size distribution inferred from rain gauge and radar data in the UK

Knowledge of rain cell size distribution is relevant for the modeling and design of Earth-space communication systems. Long-term rain rate time series were processed to determine the spatial structure of rain cells by applying the synthetic storm technique assuming some known value of storm translation speed. Using a 3 1/2 year record of rain rate at Sparsholt, UK, the size distributions of rain fields were determined using rain cell translation speeds derived from analysis of radar plan position indicator scans. The results were compared with distributions of rain cell sizes determined directly from 66 radar reflectivity scans performed in seven rain events and found to give cell sizes in the region of 10 km for rain cells of threshold ≥ 20 mm/h.