Coates et al. (2026) Evaluation of IMERG and CMORPH Satellite Precipitation Products with Respect to Extreme Precipitation from Subdaily to Multiday Accumulation Scales Against In Situ Reference Network

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrometeorology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-11
• Authors: Olivier P. Prat, John Uehling, Brian Nelson, Michael A. Palecki
• DOI: 10.1175/jhm-d-25-0181.1

Research Groups

• Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS), North Carolina State University
• Center for Weather and Climate, NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI

Short Summary

This study evaluates the accuracy of satellite precipitation products (SPPs) from CMORPH and IMERG against in-situ gauge measurements at various accumulation scales. The results show that both SPPs perform better at longer accumulation scales (>12 hours), but tend to underestimate extreme precipitation events.

Objective

• Evaluate the performance of CMORPH and IMERG satellite precipitation products at sub-daily to multi-day accumulation scales.
• Assess the accuracy of SPPs in estimating extreme precipitation events above the 90th percentile.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental United States (CONUS)
• Temporal Scale: Sub-daily to multi-day accumulation periods

Methodology and Data

• Models used: CMORPH V1.0 and IMERG V7 precipitation estimates
• Data sources: Satellite data from CMORPH and IMERG, in-situ gauge measurements from the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN)

Main Results

• Both SPPs perform better at longer accumulation scales (>12 hours), but tend to underestimate extreme precipitation events.
• IMERG outperforms CMORPH overall, with higher Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE) and correlation coefficients at most accumulation periods.

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of SPPs at various accumulation scales, highlighting their strengths and limitations in estimating extreme precipitation events.

Funding

• NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) program
• NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Mission

Citation

@article{Coates2026Evaluation,
  author = {Coates, David A. and Prat, Olivier P. and Uehling, John and Nelson, Brian and Palecki, Michael A.},
  title = {Evaluation of IMERG and CMORPH Satellite Precipitation Products with Respect to Extreme Precipitation from Subdaily to Multiday Accumulation Scales Against In Situ Reference Network},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrometeorology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jhm-d-25-0181.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-25-0181.1}
}