First Daily Mapping of Surface Moisture from Cellular Network Data and Comparison with Both Observations/ECMWF Product

Abstract

Abstract Air‐moisture maps were generated based on commercial microwave links data over N. Israel and compared for the first time to European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA‐Interim maps for April 2017. Several skill scores of the different maps were calculated against the observed humidity from 39 weather stations. High correlations range, 0.75–0.9, were found between the new links' humidity fields and the stations. The numbers of best correlated links are found to be higher compared to ECMWF, that is, 31 stations versus 8. Also, in the measure of standard deviation the links performed better, 38 versus 1. However, for the mean humidity, the ECMWF is doing better, that is 14/25 for links/ECMWF. The links' humidity thus provides a more accurate picture of the observed moisture as compared to current weather prediction product. Consequently, the high‐resolution humidity fields obtained from the commercial microwave link seem to have the potential to improve future forecasting of precipitation.

Keywords

• surface moisture
• cellular network data
• microwave link
• ERA‐Interim reanalysis
• humidity mapping
• E. Mediterranean