RateAccum

RateAccum calculates accumulated precipitation from radar files.

Overview

RateAccum calculates accumulated precipitation from radar files in MDV format. Precipitation is obtained either from previously-estimated rain rates or estimated from the reflectivity field.

Prerequesites

The following items are required:

• Radar data (MDV format)

Parameter file

RateAccum uses one parameter file that includes the basic parameters related to data location and field names, which is similar to the parameter files for the other Radx applications.

Ensure file is up to date

To obtain the default parameter file, use the following command:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RateAccum -print_params > param_file_name

If you already have a parameter file and simply want to check for (and add) updated parameters while retaining current parameters, use the following command:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RateAccum -params orig_param_file_name -print_params > new_param_file_name

Important parameters

Program modes of operation

• mode: determines if the program waits for new files (REALTIME) or moves through start and end times specified on the command line (ARCHIVE)

Input data

• input_dir: directory containing radar data in MDV format (if not specified on the command line and if mode = REALTIME)
• field_names: specify the names of the input and output fields and whether the precipitation rates have been converted to depth

Accumulation method

• accum_method: select the desired type of accumulation method (e.g., running, from time of day, total period)

Running Accumulation

• running_accums: specify the accumulation durations and output directories for MDV files

Time of Day Accumulation

• restart_time_of_day: the time (UTC) at which the accumulation restarts
• tod_accum_output_url: output directory for time of day accumulation MDV files

Total Accumulation

• total_accum_output_url: output directory for total accumulation MDV files

Running RateAccum

To check all command line options for RateAccum, including debugging options and file paths, type the following command into a terminal.

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RateAccum -h

Once your parameter file is complete, use a command similar to the following to run the application:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RateAccum -params param_file_name