---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '22550'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Extreme rainfall is quantified in engineering practice using Intensity–Duration–Frequency
    curves (IDF) that are traditionally derived from rain-gauges and more recently
    also from remote sensing instruments, such as weather radars. These instruments
    measure rainfall at different spatial scales: rain-gauge samples rainfall at the
    point scale while weather radar averages precipitation on a relatively large area,
    generally around 1 km2. As such, a radar derived IDF curve is representative of
    the mean areal rainfall over a given radar pixel and neglects the within-pixel
    rainfall variability. In this study, we quantify subpixel variability of extreme
    rainfall by using a novel space–time rainfall generator (STREAP model) that downscales
    in space the rainfall within a given radar pixel. The study was conducted using
    a unique radar data record (23 years) and a very dense rain-gauge network in the
    Eastern Mediterranean area (northern Israel). Radar–IDF curves, together with
    an ensemble of point-based IDF curves representing the radar subpixel extreme
    rainfall variability, were developed fitting Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions
    to annual rainfall maxima. It was found that the mean areal extreme rainfall derived
    from the radar underestimate most of the extreme values computed for point locations
    within the radar pixel (on average, ∼70%). The subpixel variability of rainfall
    extreme was found to increase with longer return periods and shorter durations
    (e.g. from a maximum variability of 10% for a return period of 2 years and a duration
    of 4 h to 30% for 50 years return period and 20 min duration). For the longer
    return periods, a considerable enhancement of extreme rainfall variability was
    found when stochastic (natural) climate variability was taken into account. Bounding
    the range of the subpixel extreme rainfall derived from radar–IDF can be of major
    importance for different applications that require very local estimates of rainfall
    extremes.'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Nadav
  full_name: Peleg, Nadav
  last_name: Peleg
- first_name: Francesco
  full_name: Marra, Francesco
  last_name: Marra
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Athanasios
  full_name: Paschalis, Athanasios
  last_name: Paschalis
- first_name: Peter
  full_name: Molnar, Peter
  last_name: Molnar
- first_name: Paolo
  full_name: Burlando, Paolo
  last_name: Burlando
citation:
  ama: Peleg N, Marra F, Fatichi S, Paschalis A, Molnar P, Burlando P. Spatial variability
    of extreme rainfall at radar subpixel scale. <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. 2018;556:922-933.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033</a>
  apa: Peleg, N., Marra, F., Fatichi, S., Paschalis, A., Molnar, P., &#38; Burlando,
    P. (2018). Spatial variability of extreme rainfall at radar subpixel scale. <i>Journal
    of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033</a>
  chicago: Peleg, Nadav, Francesco Marra, Simone Fatichi, Athanasios Paschalis, Peter
    Molnar, and Paolo Burlando. “Spatial Variability of Extreme Rainfall at Radar
    Subpixel Scale.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier, 2018. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033</a>.
  ieee: N. Peleg, F. Marra, S. Fatichi, A. Paschalis, P. Molnar, and P. Burlando,
    “Spatial variability of extreme rainfall at radar subpixel scale,” <i>Journal
    of Hydrology</i>, vol. 556. Elsevier, pp. 922–933, 2018.
  ista: Peleg N, Marra F, Fatichi S, Paschalis A, Molnar P, Burlando P. 2018. Spatial
    variability of extreme rainfall at radar subpixel scale. Journal of Hydrology.
    556, 922–933.
  mla: Peleg, Nadav, et al. “Spatial Variability of Extreme Rainfall at Radar Subpixel
    Scale.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>, vol. 556, Elsevier, 2018, pp. 922–33, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033</a>.
  short: N. Peleg, F. Marra, S. Fatichi, A. Paschalis, P. Molnar, P. Burlando, Journal
    of Hydrology 556 (2018) 922–933.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T08:09:51Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.033
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       556'
keyword:
- Extreme rainfall variability
- High resolution rainfall modeling
- IDF curves
- Precipitation downscaling
- Subpixel scale
- Weather radar
language:
- iso: eng
month: '01'
oa_version: None
page: 922-933
publication: Journal of Hydrology
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1879-2707
  issn:
  - 0022-1694
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Spatial variability of extreme rainfall at radar subpixel scale
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 556
year: '2018'
...