Artificial neural network model for precipitation forecast over Western Himalaya using satellite images

Kalpana satellite images in real time available by India meteorological department (IMD), contain relevant inputs about the cloud in infra-red (IR), water vapor (WV), and visible (VIS) bands. In the present study an attempt has been made to forecast precipitation at six stations in western Himalaya by using extracted grey scale values of IR and WV images. The extracted pixel values at a location are trained for the corresponding precipitation at that location. The precipitation state at 0300 UTC is considered to train the model for precipitation forecast with 24 hour lead time. The satellite images acquired in IR (10.5 - 12.5 mu m) and WV (5.7 - 7.1 mu m) bands have been used for developing Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for qualitative as well as quantitative precipitation forecast. The model results are validated with ground observations and skill scores are computed to check the potential of the model for operational purpose. The probability of detection at the six stations varies from 0.78 for Gulmarg in Pir-Panjal range to 0.95 for Dras in Greater Himalayan range. Overall performance for qualitative forecast is in the range from 61% to 84%. Root mean square error for different locations under study is in the range 5.81 to 8.7.