Quantitative precipitation estimates from CERAD, BALTRAD and gauges

Within the framework of ELDAS, the Devel- opment of a European Land Data Assimilation Systems to predict floods and droughts, continental-scale 3-hourly pre- cipitation fields have been analysed from operational data of CERAD (Central European radar network), BALTRAD (Baltic radar network) and about 21 600 precipitation gauges. Here we focus on the application of CERAD and BAL- TRAD for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) that is the choice of quality control methods, the impact of in- put radar data quality on the analysis results and the anal- ysis algorithm. The quality of the radar derived precipita- tion fields has been estimated by comparison with ground truth fields at the spatio-temporal scale of the ELDAS grid (0.2 degree/daily). Additionally, statistics on the availability of CERAD and BALTRAD data for the entire ELDAS pe- riod Oct. 1999 to Dec. 2000 have been compiled. The final ELDAS precipitation product comprises disaggregated daily rain gauge analyses based on 3-hourly accumulated CERAD and BALTRAD fields.