GPM 2A56 V05 Data Format


File name

PIERS-0007_B-202501.2a56.V05.txt

PIERS    Rain gauge network
         In this case, PIERS stands for Precipitation Instrument Evaluation and Research Sites, 
         named in honor of Piers Sellers — a NASA astronaut and climate scientist renowned 
         for his contributions to Earth science and space exploration.
0007_B   Rain gauge ID. Each gauge is equipped with two buckets, labeled 'A' and 'B' 
2025     Year  
2A56     Product ID 
V05      Version number
txt      Text format

File header

2025 PIERS 0007_B MetOne 0.254 mm 01/01/2025 00:00 01/31/2025 23:59

2015 PIERS 0007_B     Same as in file name 
MetOne                Gauge type
0.254 mm              Gauge bucket size
01/01/2025 00:00      Time stamp (month/day/year hour:minute in UTC) for the first record in the month
01/31/2025 23:59      Time stamp (month/day/year hour:minute in UTC) for the last record in the month


Data format

Year Mon Day Jday  Hr Min Rain[mm/h]  Lat        Lon
......................................................
2025  01  06  006  14  32   0.000  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  33   0.000  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  34   0.000  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  35   0.000  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  36   0.000  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  37   2.580  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  38   2.040  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  39   1.680  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  40   1.500  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  41   1.500  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  14  42   1.680  37.91287  -75.57986       
......................................................
2025  01  06  006  17  12   5.100  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  17  13   4.910  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  17  14   4.910  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  17  15   5.100  37.91287  -75.57986                                  
2025  01  06  006  17  16  -9.999 -99.99999 -999.99999                                  
2025  01  06  006  17  17  -9.999 -99.99999 -999.99999  
......................................................

There are 9 data fields. 
 1) year
 2) month 
 3) day of month
 4) Julian Day of year
 5) hour in UTC 
 6) minute 
 7) rainrate [mm/h] 
  "0.000" indicates no rain, while "-9.999" represents missing data for each 1-minute interval.
 8) Latitude  in degree. missing: -99.99999
 9) Longitude in degree. missing: -999.99999