Performance evaluation of rain products from a polarimetric X-band radar by using a new raw data processing chain

A new data processing chain has been applied to polarimetric radar observations at X band. The article describes the chain and provides an analysis of the quality of the polarimetric variables. Different algorithms have been studied based on simple Zh-R, on Zh and Zdr, on Kdp and Kdp and Zdr. Evaluation against rain-gauges, confirms the superiority of polarimetric algorithms. It also shows that the benefits brought by algorithms based on power variables, Zh and Zdr are critically dependent on the capability of a correct calibration.