Heavy precipitation measurement from combined microwave and infrared satellite data: Application to case studies of the European FLASH project

In the recent years, the retrieval of precipitation from satellite-borne microwave (MW) and infrared (IR) radiometers has profited by several improvements in terms of ground resolution, number of channels, sensor reliability, and computer algorithms for the processing of experimental data. This paper describes the combined MW/IR precip- itation analyses of several case studies that have been selected within the European Union FP6 FLASH project, that aims at improving the monitoring, nowcasting and forecasting of the hazardous, flood-producing storms that intermittently strike the Mediterranean coastal regions.