Testing rainfall rate models for rain attenuation prediction purposes in tropical climate

One minute rainfall rates are a key tool for rain attenuation modeling. Availability of this data is still very scarce worldwide, especially in the tropics with insufficient propagation measurement. The scenario at the tropical and the equatorial locations is of concern due to the nature of the climate which is characterized by high rainfall intensity, enhanced frequencies of rain occurrence and the increase presence of large raindrops when compared with the temperate climates. In this work, four different rainfall rate distribution models were compared to find the best fit over the tropical stations using data from our propagation measurement - Nigeria Environmental Climatic Observatory Program (NECOP) for radio wave propagation purposes.