Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece

Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, or Medicanes, present unique challenges for precipitation estimations due to their rapid development and localized impacts. This study evaluates the performance of satellite precipitation products in capturing the precipitation associated with Medicane Daniel th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dimitrios Katsanos, Adrianos Retalis, John Kalogiros, Basil E. Psiloglou, Nikolaos Roukounakis, Marios Anagnostou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4216
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846152590016905216
author Dimitrios Katsanos
Adrianos Retalis
John Kalogiros
Basil E. Psiloglou
Nikolaos Roukounakis
Marios Anagnostou
author_facet Dimitrios Katsanos
Adrianos Retalis
John Kalogiros
Basil E. Psiloglou
Nikolaos Roukounakis
Marios Anagnostou
author_sort Dimitrios Katsanos
collection DOAJ
description Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, or Medicanes, present unique challenges for precipitation estimations due to their rapid development and localized impacts. This study evaluates the performance of satellite precipitation products in capturing the precipitation associated with Medicane Daniel that struck Greece in early September 2023. Utilizing a combination of ground-based observations, reanalysis, and satellite-derived precipitation data, we assess the accuracy and spatial distribution of the satellite precipitation products GPM IMERG, GSMaP, and CMOPRH during the cyclone event, which formed in the Eastern Mediterranean from 4 to 7 September 2023, hitting with unprecedented, enormous amounts of rainfall, especially in the region of Thessaly in central Greece. The results indicate that, while satellite precipitation products demonstrate overall skill in capturing the broad-scale precipitation patterns associated with Medicane Daniel, discrepancies exist in estimating localized intense rainfall rates, particularly in convective cells within the cyclone’s core. Indeed, most of the satellite precipitation products studied in this work showed a misplacement of the highest amounts of associated rainfall, a significant underestimation of the event, and large unbiased root mean square error in the areas of heavy precipitation. The total precipitation field from IMERG Late Run and CMORPH showed the smallest bias (but significant) and good temporal correlation against rain gauges and ERA5-Land reanalysis data as a reference, while IMERG Final Run and GSMaP showed the largest underestimation and overestimation, respectively. Further investigation is needed to improve the representation of extreme precipitation events associated with tropical-like cyclones in satellite precipitation products.
format Article
id doaj-art-9ea9e7232bff442cbbcc7695ce7d55cf
institution Kabale University
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-9ea9e7232bff442cbbcc7695ce7d55cf2024-11-26T18:20:02ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-11-011622421610.3390/rs16224216Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, GreeceDimitrios Katsanos0Adrianos Retalis1John Kalogiros2Basil E. Psiloglou3Nikolaos Roukounakis4Marios Anagnostou5Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Informatics, Ionian University, Tsirigoti Square 7, 49100 Corfu, GreeceMediterranean tropical-like cyclones, or Medicanes, present unique challenges for precipitation estimations due to their rapid development and localized impacts. This study evaluates the performance of satellite precipitation products in capturing the precipitation associated with Medicane Daniel that struck Greece in early September 2023. Utilizing a combination of ground-based observations, reanalysis, and satellite-derived precipitation data, we assess the accuracy and spatial distribution of the satellite precipitation products GPM IMERG, GSMaP, and CMOPRH during the cyclone event, which formed in the Eastern Mediterranean from 4 to 7 September 2023, hitting with unprecedented, enormous amounts of rainfall, especially in the region of Thessaly in central Greece. The results indicate that, while satellite precipitation products demonstrate overall skill in capturing the broad-scale precipitation patterns associated with Medicane Daniel, discrepancies exist in estimating localized intense rainfall rates, particularly in convective cells within the cyclone’s core. Indeed, most of the satellite precipitation products studied in this work showed a misplacement of the highest amounts of associated rainfall, a significant underestimation of the event, and large unbiased root mean square error in the areas of heavy precipitation. The total precipitation field from IMERG Late Run and CMORPH showed the smallest bias (but significant) and good temporal correlation against rain gauges and ERA5-Land reanalysis data as a reference, while IMERG Final Run and GSMaP showed the largest underestimation and overestimation, respectively. Further investigation is needed to improve the representation of extreme precipitation events associated with tropical-like cyclones in satellite precipitation products.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4216Medicane Danielextreme rainfallsatellite precipitation productsweather radarrain-gauges
spellingShingle Dimitrios Katsanos
Adrianos Retalis
John Kalogiros
Basil E. Psiloglou
Nikolaos Roukounakis
Marios Anagnostou
Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
Remote Sensing
Medicane Daniel
extreme rainfall
satellite precipitation products
weather radar
rain-gauges
title Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
title_full Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
title_fullStr Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
title_full_unstemmed Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
title_short Performance Evaluation of Satellite Precipitation Products During Extreme Events—The Case of the Medicane Daniel in Thessaly, Greece
title_sort performance evaluation of satellite precipitation products during extreme events the case of the medicane daniel in thessaly greece
topic Medicane Daniel
extreme rainfall
satellite precipitation products
weather radar
rain-gauges
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4216
work_keys_str_mv AT dimitrioskatsanos performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece
AT adrianosretalis performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece
AT johnkalogiros performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece
AT basilepsiloglou performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece
AT nikolaosroukounakis performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece
AT mariosanagnostou performanceevaluationofsatelliteprecipitationproductsduringextremeeventsthecaseofthemedicanedanielinthessalygreece