Abstract. Leading-edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbine blades is
caused by the impact of hydrometeors, which appear in a solid or liquid phase.
A reduction in the wind turbine blades' tip speed during defined
precipitation events can mitigate LEE. To apply such an erosion-safe mode, a
precipitation nowcast is required. Theoretical considerations indicate that
the time a raindrop needs to fall to the ground is sufficient to reduce the
tip speed. Furthermore, it is described that a compact, vertically pointing
radar that measures rain at different heights with a sufficiently high
spatio-temporal resolution can nowcast rain for an erosion-safe mode.