Automatic Hail Detection at MeteoSwiss - Verification of the radar-based hail detection algorithms POH, MESHS and HAIL

MeteoSwiss operates a network of three different radar stations. The radar-based hail detection algorithms POH (Probability Of Hail), MESHS (Maximum Expected Severe Hail Size) and HAIL were verified in this study. The years 2009, 2010 and 2011 were considered. A ground-truth hail report data base was created. Data for the year 2011 were collected in Internet with information about locations and hailstone diameters. For the years 2009 and 2010 insurance data were used.