ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that TropiNet radar technology has been used first time for hydrologic analyzes and specifically for rainfall forecasting in Puerto Rico. The nowcasting model has a limitation in the time shift, because it is assumed that the cloud is a rigid object and that the cloud speed is constant, when in reality these parameters can vary. To find the actual weather conditions, more atmospheric parameters should be taken into account. The rainfall nowcasting algorithm searches for contiguous rain pixels and identifies rain cells in the last two radar images to estimate the cloud motion vector. This newly developed rainfall nowcasting algorithm was validated with ten storms and results comparing the algorithm with observed data as well as the hydrological results showed that the nowcasting model is a suitable tool for predicting the most likely areas to become inundated.
