Spatial verification approaches as a tool to evaluate the performance of high resolution precipitation forecasts

The results from this particular test case indicate that a neighbourhood verification framework as well as the use of the Structure, Amplitude and Location (SAL) index, which belongs to the object-based methods, can identify the scales and precipitation thresholds at which the fine resolution configuration (COSMO-GR3) provides more accurate forecasts than the coarser resolution configuration (COSMO-GR7) and is therefore worth the additional computational burden. Additional insight is gained by comparing the results of various spatial methods with traditional verification metrics based on point observations. Finally, it is demonstrated that the interpolation method used in the adaptation of data at various scales can, in some cases, influence verification results as much as model resolution.