Revisiting the hail radar reflectivity-kinetic energy flux relation by combining T-matrix and Discrete Dipole Approximation calculations to size distribution observations

The DDA calculations are done for 48 digital models of realistic hailstones of sizes between 1 and 5 cm. The DDA cross sections are calculated for multiple orientations and averaged assuming a fully random orientation distribution to provide a single value per hailstone. The T-matrix reflectivity assuming solid ice spheres presents negligible differences to DDA results for size parameters below 1.0.

Therefore, T matrix was used to fill in the gaps left by the DDA calculations. The results are mapped to the same size bins of the observed PSDs, allowing the calculation of the radar reflectivity. This is then correlated to E-., allowing a potential improvement of past retrieval methods of E. from Z in multiple wavelengths.