The last two decades of multiparameter observations in radar meteorology: prelude to an even brighter future

The most important development in radar meteorology, since the introduction of coherent signal processing for Doppler velocity measurements of atmospheric motion in the 1960s, has been the application of polarimetry to hydrometeor characterization. Doppler measurements provide essential information on kinematics while polarimetry gives major insights into the nature of the hydrometeors within the radar scattering volume. The combined use of these technologies in radar meteorology has resulted in a new field of investigation termed `multiparameter radar´. Related measurements are having a dramatic impact on our understanding of mesoscale meteorology and cloud physics, in addition to providing important new opportunities for operational meteorology. The latter include monitoring rainfall for hydrological forecasting, hail detection and microburst nowcasting