Rainfall monitoring in urban areas in the Amazon using weather radar on the SipamHidro platform - research on extreme precipitation forecasting

Sep 8, 2026

Upload by Adam

Meteorological radar supports short-term and very short-term monitoring and prediction of storm motion, enabling faster decision-making during extreme rainfall. This research evaluates the effectiveness of weather radar for forecasting extreme precipitation events via the SipamHidro platform in an urban-area application, using the storm that occurred in Manaus on March 25, 2023. Pluviometer observations from Manaus and precipitation estimates from TITAN were assessed through Pearson correlation, cartographic representations, and comparisons of observed versus predicted timing. Results indicate useful storm timing anticipation and spatial agreement, despite underestimation of rainfall magnitude and reduced correlation near the radar.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Resumo

Palavras-chaves

Introduction

Rainfall monitoring in urban areas in the Amazon using weather radar on the SipamHidro platform Monitoramento de chuva em área urbana na Amazônia através do radar meteorológico na plataforma SipamHidro Cairo Eduardo Carvalho Barreto*, Flávio Augusto Altieri dos Santos**, Raquel Macêdo Lopes Monteiro***, Jean Souza dos Reis**** Edson José Paulino da Rocha***** * Coordenação de Hidrologia, CENSIPAM, [cairobarretoufpa@gmail.com](cairobarretoufpa@gmail.com) ** Coordenação de Hidrologia, CENSIPAM, [flavio.santos@sipam.gov.br](flavio.santos@sipam.gov.br) *** Coordenação de Hidrologia, CENSIPAM, [raquelmacedolopes1996@gmail.com](raquelmacedolopes1996@gmail.com) **** Instituto SENAI de Inovação em Energias Renováveis, SENAI, [jean.dosreis@hotmail.com](jean.dosreis@hotmail.com) ***** Universidade Federal do Pará, [eprocha@ufpa.br](eprocha@ufpa.br) [http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/raega.v59i0.94930](http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/raega.v59i0.94930) Abstract Meteorological radar allows the monitoring and prediction in short and very short-term time intervals of storm movement. The objective of this research is to evaluate the weather radar effectiveness for extreme precipitation events forecasting using the SipamHidro rainfall in urbanarea application. This assessment was carried out considering the storm that occurred in Manaus on March 25, 2023. Observations from pluviometers installed in the urban area of Manaus by CEMADEN and estimated precipitation determined using the TITAN software were used. The evaluation was based on Pearson correlation coefficient, cartographic representations and comparison between observed and predicted. The results show that: a) The event generated more than 135 occurrences of disasters due to extreme rain in the city of Manaus; b) forecasts obtained by radar tend to underestimate observed precipitation by between 31% and 72%, but their spatial distribution is similar; c) the correlations between precipitation obtained by radar and observed precipitation in neighborhoods with rain gauges were from r= 0.59 a r= 0.95, except at the nearby area of the radar; d) the analysis between the predicted and observed times indicates a tendency to adequately anticipate the start of the storm. There were significant correlations between radar data and rain gauges, except in the vicinity of the radar. Despite the lack of precision in extreme rainfall measurements, radar has shown potential as an early forecasting tool, highlighting the importance of its continued development to improve the response to extreme events in urban areas. Keywords: Disaster risk reduction, extreme precipitation, Radar forecast. Resumo O radar meteorológico permite o monitoramento e previsão do deslocamento tempestades em intervalos de tempo de curto e curtíssimo prazo (nowcasting) . O objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar aeficácia do radar meteorológico para a previsão evento extremos de precipitação a partir da aplicação Chuva em Área Urbana do SipamHidro. Esta avaliação considerou a tempestade que ocorreu em Manaus no dia 25 de março de 2023. Foram utilizadas as observações de pluviômetros instalados na área urbana de Manaus pelo CEMADEN e as estimativa de precipitação determinadas com o uso do software TITAN. A avaliação baseou-se em cálculos de correlação, representaçõescartográficas e comparação entre os horários observados e previstos. Os resultados mostram que: a) O evento gerou mais de 135 ocorrências de desastres por extremo de chuva na cidade de Manaus; b) as previsões obtidas pelo radar tendem a subestimar entre 31% e 72% a precipitação observada, mas sua distribuição espacial é similar; c) as correlações entre as precipitações obtidaspelo radar e as observados nos bairros com pluviômetro foram de r= 0.59 a r= 0.95, exceto nas proximidades do radar; d) a análise entre os horários previstos e observados indicam uma tendênciade antecipação adequada do início da tempestade. Houve correlações significativas entre os dado

FAQs

What is the main objective of the research?

To evaluate the effectiveness of meteorological radar for forecasting extreme precipitation events using the SipamHidro rainfall in an urban-area application.

Which event and location were used for the evaluation?

The assessment considered the storm that occurred in Manaus on March 25, 2023, using observations and radar-based precipitation estimates.

How was radar performance measured and what were the key findings?

Performance was evaluated using Pearson correlation, cartographic representations, and comparisons between observed and predicted rainfall and timing; forecasts tended to underestimate totals, while spatial distribution and storm onset anticipation showed promising agreement, with weaker results near the radar.

Sep 8, 2026

Upload by Adam