NOAA/NWS Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) Hourly Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE)

The NWS River Forecast Center (RFC) Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) products are generated by the P3/MPE/Mountain Mapper software, which use a combination of radar and rain gauge data to construct QPE on 1 hr time scales. Rain gauge data are used to bias-correct the radar data and additional quality control (QC) is performed. The original products are in an XMRG format interpolated to 4 km grid and projected in the Hydrologic Rainfall Analysis Project (HRAP) grid coordinate system, a polar stereographic projection true at 60 degrees North by 105 degrees West. A CF-compliant netCDF format of the data is also available for the purpose of expanding the data use in hydrologic applications. The Arkansas-Red Basin RFC (ABRFC) is a regional center that forecasts river flows and stages for floods, navigation, recreation and water management for the Arkansas River Basin from near Leadville, CO to Pine Bluff, AR and the Red River Basin from the northern mountains of New Mexico to Fulton, AR. The data period of record begins in October 1995 and continues daily in operations. Data are stored and available in netCDF and Hydrological XMRG file formats.