The GPM Ground Validation High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) IPHEx dataset was collected during the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ground Validation Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) field campaign in North Carolina. The goal of IPHEx was to evaluate the accuracy of satellite precipitation measurements and use the collected data for hydrology models in the region. The NASA ER-2 aircraft flew during the IPHEx field campaign to aid in GPM validation. The science instruments, including the HIWRAP, onboard the aircraft acted as a proxy for GPM satellite instruments. HIWRAP is a Doppler radar that combines conical scan mode measurements at two different frequency bands (Ka- and Ku-band) and two different incidence angles (30 and 40 degrees). Twenty-one ER-2 flights occurred from May 1, 2014 through June 14, 2014. The HIWRAP dataset includes netCDF-4 files containing radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity profiles along with aircraft altitude and other navigation information.

The GPM Ground Validation High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) OLYMPEX dataset consists of Doppler velocity and reflectivity profiles collected by the High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) onboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft during the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) Ground Validation Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX). The OLYMPEX field campaign took place between November 2015 and January 2016, with additional ground sampling continuing through February 2016, on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The purpose of the campaign was to provide ground-validation data for the measurements taken by instrumentation aboard the GPM Core Observatory satellite. HIWRAP is a Doppler radar that combines conical scan mode measurements at two different frequency bands (Ka- and Ku-band) and two different incidence angles (30 and 40 degrees) to obtain profiles of wind and rain. These Level 1B HIWRAP data files are available from November 10 through December 12, 2015 in netCDF-3 format.

The GPM Ground Validation McGill W-Band Radar GCPEx dataset was collected from February 1, 2012 to February 29, 2012 at the CARE site in Ontario, Canada as a part of the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx). This datset was collected to aid in the achievement of the over arching goal of GCPEx which is to characterize the ability of multi-frequency active and passive microwave sensors to detect and estimate falling snow. The W-Band radar is a single antenna, 94-GHz pulsed Doppler, vertical pointing radar system. Data products from the W-Band radar include radar reflectivity, Doppler moments, and Doppler spectra of variable lengths. The W-Band radar is primarily used to research various cloud properties. The GPM Ground Validation McGill W-Band Radar GCPEx dataset is available in netCDF format.

The GPM Ground Validation NOAA UHF 449 Profiler MC3E dataset was collected during the NASA supported Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). The overarching goal was to provide the most complete characterization of convective cloud systems, precipitation, and the environment that has ever been obtained, providing constraints for model cumulus parameterizations and space-based rainfall retrieval algorithms over land that had never before been available. The Ultra High Frequency 449 MHz profiler was one of three NOAA deployed instruments which also included a Parsivel and a 2.8 GHz profiler (S-Band). The 449 MHz profiler raw data files provide estimates of the vertical air motion during precipitation from near the surface to just below the freezing level. Used together with the S-band profiler, vertical profiles of raindrop size distributions can be retrieved. The raw 449MGx profiler data consists of uncalibrated Doppler velocity spectra data in units of relative power return.

The GPM Ground Validation NASA Micro Rain Radar (MRR) HyMeX is a vertically pointing Doppler radar that obtained measurements of vertical velocity, drop size distribution, rainfall rate, attenuation, liquid water content, and reflectivity factor during the HYdrological cycle in Mediterranean EXperiment (HyMeX) campaign. The HYdrological cycle in Mediterranean EXperiment (HyMeX) aimed to improve the understanding, quantification and modelling of the hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean, with emphasis on the predictability and evolution of extreme weather events, inter-annual to decadal variability of the Mediterranean coupled system, and associated trends in the context of global change. Furthermore, this campaign aimed to improve observational and modelling systems, better predict extreme events, simulate the long-term water-cycle, and provide guidelines for adaptation measures. Special Observation Period 1 (SOP1), which was from September 5 to November 6, 2012, was dedicated to heavy precipitation and flash-flooding. More information about HyMeX is available at http://www.hymex.org/.

The GPM Ground Validation NASA Micro Rain Radar (MRR) is a vertically pointing Doppler radar which provided measurements of vertical velocity, drop size distribution, rainfall rate, attenuation, liquid water content, and reflectivity factor obtained during the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx), which took place in western North Carolina during the spring of 2014. A total of four MRRs were deployed, some co-located with other instruments and some were moved to different locations during the campaign. The dataset covers the period of April 22, 2014 through June 16, 2014, but each MRR deployed may not contain data during the entirety of this period. Two MRRs remained deployed through October 17, 2014 and data from these are also included in this dataset.

The GPM Ground Validation NASA Micro Rain Radar (MRR) MC3E dataset was collected by a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), which is a vertically pointing Doppler radar which provides measurements of vertical velocity, drop size distribution, rainfall rate, attenuation, liquid water content, and reflectivity factor obtained during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), which took place in Oklahoma during the Spring of 2011. The MRR is a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) vertically pointing Doppler radar, which operates at 24.24GHz, and is the second generation of the instrument manufactured by METEK (URL: http://metek.de/product/mrr-2/).

The GPM Ground Validation Airborne Precipitation Radar 3rd Generation (APR-3) OLYMPEX V2 dataset was collected from November 12, 2015 to December 19, 2015 during the GPM Ground Validation Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX) field campaign held in the Pacific Northwest. This dataset is version -2 (V2) of the APR-3, an enhanced and upgraded instrument derived from the APR-2 used in previous field campaigns. APR-3 has the addition of W-band measurement capability, and scans cross-track from +/- 25° to the right and left of nadir. Ku-band, Ka-band, and W-band frequency Doppler measurements are made by APR-3 from the DC-8 aircraft at 10 km altitude during OLYMPEX. The APR-3 dataset files are in HDF-5 format with JPG format browse images. This dataset contains radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity for all bands, linear depolarization ratio at Ku-band, and normalized radar cross section measurements at Ka and Ku-bands.

The GPM Ground Validation CHILL Radar MC3E dataset was collected during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), which was held in Oklahoma were collected while the NASA ER-2 aircraft conducted a series of four legs along the 090 and 120 degree CHILL azimuths on May 24, 2011. Dual linear polarization variables as well as Doppler velocity, radial velocity, and normalized coherent power are contained in this dataset. In an effort to expand the MC3E sampling to a wider geographical area, the NASA ER-2 aircraft was directed to Northeastern Colorado while widespread rain was in progress on May 24, 2011. The aircraft flew a series of pre-defined ground tracks that coincided with radials from the CSU-CHILL radar. This aided in keeping the aircraft in the plane of a series of RHI scans done by CSU-CHILL. The single polarization CSU-Pawnee radar maintained volume coverage of the echo system while the radial flight legs were in progress. During aircraft course reversals at the ends of the radial legs, the CHILL and Pawnee radars started volume scans in synchronization to support dual Doppler wind syntheses. The Pawnee radar data are available as a seperate dataset.