Freezing drizzle detection with WSR-88D radars

Although radar returns from freezing drizzle and light snow are similar-<5 dBZ and spatially uniform-freezing drizzle can be identified using feature parameters computed from radar reflectivity, such as local and global standard deviations and reflectivity texture weighted with a fuzzy-logic scheme.

Algorithm results agree well with surface precipitation reports. The proposed algorithm can serve as one component of automated decision-support schemes for icing hazard detection and/or hydrometeor identification.