The potential of cellular network infrastructures for sudden rainfall monitoring in dry climate regions

Monitoring of precipitation and in particular sudden rain, in rural dry climate regions, is a subject of great significance in several weather related processes such as soil erosion, flash flooding, triggering epidemics and more. The rainfall monitoring facilities in these regions and as a result precipitation data are, however, commonly, severely lacking. As was recently shown, cellular networks infrastructures supply high resolution precipitation measurements at ground level while often being situated in dry areas, covering large parts of these climatic zones. The potential found in these systems to provide early monitoring and essential precipitation information, directly from arid regions, based on standard measurements of commercial microwave links, is exemplified here over the Negev and the Southern Judean desert, South Israel.We present the results of two different rainfall events occurred in these regions. It is shown that the microwave system measured precipitation between at least 50 min (in case 1) and at least 1 h and 40 min (in case 2) before each of the sparse rain gauges. During each case, the radar system, located relatively far from the arid sites, provided measurements from heights of at least 1500 m and 2000 m above surface, respectively. A third case study demonstrates a relative advantage of microwave links to measure precipitation intensity with respect to the radar system, over an area of complex topography located in northeastern Israel, which is relatively far (~ 150 km) from the radar.

► Monitoring of precipitation in dry climate regions is a subject of great importance in several weather related processes.
► Rainfall monitoring facilities in these areas are commonly severely lacking.
► Commercial microwave links can supply high resolution precipitation measurements while often being situated in dry climate zones.
► We exemplify the ability to provide early detection and monitoring of rain in such regions using commercial microwave links.