The SC EXCELL model for the prediction of monthly rain attenuation statistics

This contribution presents the prediction of monthly rain attenuation statistics by means of the Stratiform/Convective (SC) EXCELL model. The assumption put forth in this contribution is that, although developed for the prediction of yearly statistics, thanks to its solid physical basis, SC EXCELL can be applied as is also to estimate monthly rain attenuation statistics, provided that suitable inputs (i.e. monthly rain rate statistics and monthly rain height) are used. Preliminary tests are carried out to validate this assumption against the extensive set of rain attenuation data collected at the experimental station of Spino d´Adda during the Italsat propagation experiment (years 1994-2000). The results obtained indicate that SC EXCELL offers satisfactory predictions both of yearly and monthly rain attenuation statistics, the accuracy of the latter being mainly limited by the statistical stability of the measurements.