Testing the Retrieval of the Rain Drop Size Distribution Moments Using X-Band Polarimetric Radar Data During a Warm Rain Event

A method to retrieve the moments of rain drop size distributions (DSDs) from X-band dual-polarimetric radars is tested using data from a warm rain event that occurred near Incheon, Republic of Korea. The method involves the use of attenuation-corrected radar reflectivity (Z_h) for horizontal polarization, attenuation-corrected differential reflectivity (Z_dr), and the specific attenuation (A_h) for horizontal polarization. The method was previously tested for an event in Greeley, CO, USA, and had resulted in very encouraging results. In this article, we apply the same method to an isolated warm rain cell and examine the height profiles of the retrieved moments. We show that the application of the method results in very plausible results in terms of the dominant microphysical processes associated with warm rain events.