A review of current approaches to radar-based quantitative precipitation forecasts

Short-term radar-based forecasts of precipitation can be achieved through the implementation of nowcasting models, essentially based on the rainfall extrapolation from a series of consecutive radar scans. Recent advances in this field include the development of hybrid models, aimed at merging the benefits of radar nowcasting and numerical weather prediction models, and probabilistic systems, aimed at addressing the sources of uncertainty in radar rainfall forecasts by means of ensembles. This paper provides an overview of radar nowcasting methods and approaches, with an emphasis on recent developments in this field.