MRMS 1-Hour QPE Grid-to-Grid Retrospective verification

This document is a guide for verifying retro cases against MRMS QPE Pass 2 Analysis data. This analysis is radar derived precipitation accumulation with the maximum amount of bias correction from gauge data as NSSL provides.

Updated: June 11, 2026
POC: MATS Service account (mats.gsl@noaa.gov)

Reload MRMS data¶

1. Log onto the HPC (Hera) as the role.amb-verif role account. If you cannot become role.amb-verif, please let the MATS team know and we will have you added.

2. Go to the directory /home/role.amb-verif/VERIF/verif/precip_1hr/MRMS/retro. Check to see if the MRMS QPE analysis files for your period are already there. If not, you will need to run the MRMS task inside the rocoto workflow detailed in the following section.

Process Grids¶

1. Go to the ~role.amb-verif/VERIF/xml/retro directory and make copies of both the rocoto XML file, precip_1hr_mrms_retro.xml, and the submission script, submit_precip_1hr_mrms_retro.

2. In your copy of the XML file, modify the following XML variables:

• ENTITIES

  • {HRRR,RRFS,MPAS, etc.}_EXP - name of your retro experiment. This name will be added to the {MODEL}ret_ prefix in the verification database and on MATS.

  • {MODEL}_DIR - path to your retro output. Be sure to only include the structure up to the date/cycle level directory. The verification scripts will handle the conventions from there, with the following supported:

  model name	expected directory/filename convention
  HRRRret_{case_name}	{MODEL_DIR}/{YYYYMMDDHH}/postprd/wrftwo_hrconus_{FF}.grib2
  RRFSret_{case_name}	{MODEL_DIR}/{YYYYMMDDHH}/postprd/RRFS_CONUS.t{HH}z.bgrd3df{FFF}.tm00.grib2
  RRFS_NA_3kmret_{case_name}	{MODEL_DIR}/{YYYYMMDDHH}/postprd/hrrr_grid/RRFS_NA_3km.t{HH}z.bgrd3df{FFF}.tm00.grib2
  RRFS_NA_13kmret_{case_name}	{MODEL_DIR}/{YYYYMMDDHH}/postprd/130_grid/RRFS_NA_13km.t{HH}z.bgrd3df{FFF}.tm00.grib2
  RRFSv2_conus_3km_ret_{case_name}	{MODEL_DIR}/rrfs.{YYYYMMDD}/{HH}/upp/det/rrfs.t{HH}z.testbed.f{FFF}.conus.grib2

• Workflow

  • Start and end date - in the <cycledef> field at the top of the <workflow> section

• Ensure your task section ([model]_precip_init task and verif metatask) and is activated based on the type of retro you are processing

• MRMS_interp task If the MRMS analysis files already exist in the verification working directory, comment out the MRMS_interp task. If not, leave in place and the script called will either grab them from the role.amb-verif or the DSG archive on the HPSS

• Database task (precip_db)

  • Ensure that your type of retro {MODEL}_EXP is active (uncommented) in the MODELS and SQLMODELS variable fields.

  • The SQLOBS value should list MRMS once for each experiment being verified in this workflow

  • Ensure that the dependency <taskdep> activated matches your type so the task will run properly

3. Modify your submission script (submit_precip_1hr_mrms_retro) to look at your XML file and designate a new Rocoto database file.

4. Add the submission script to the role.amb-verif crontab and monitor via Rocoto workflow.

5. Model grids will be available in the /home/role.amb-verif/VERIF/verif/precip_1hr/{MODEL}/retro/{MODEL}_EXP directory

6. Verification output, including statistics/CTC output, will be available in the /home/role.amb-verif/VERIF/verif/precip_1hr/{MODEL}vMRMS/retro/{MODEL}_EXP directory

Load metadata to populate MATS¶

1. Results should appear on MATS the following morning, but a metadata scan can be run to expedite the process. As role.amb-verif on Hera, run

~/mats_metadata/update_metadata_precip_1hr.py {HRRR,RRFS,MPAS}ret_{case_name}

If you see a >0 number of records found in the output, your retro is stored in the database with metadata enabled.

2. The final step is to refresh the metadata inside the MATS client using the following URL: https://gsl.noaa.gov/mats/radar/refreshMetadata. Once complete, return to the 1hr precip app home page and check the data source drop down for your retro. If present, you are free to create plots.

If you encounter any issues during any of the steps outlined here, either on Jet or Hera, please contact the MATS team (mats.gsl@noaa.gov).