1st MSC Introductory Weather Radar Course

Why Use Radars for Weather Forecasting?

  • A vital tool for short-term forecasting
    • Quicker and more frequent than satellite pictures (10 minutes or less per scan)
    • Shows you where the rain is and how intense areas of precipitation are
    • Shows where systems are in real time
    • Not only where rain is, but how intense it is
  • Movement of Tropical Cyclones, Thunderstorms and fronts
  • Detection of severe thunderstorms - hail, tornadoes (if Doppler)
  • Crucial part of nowcasting system
IDevice Icon What You Can See with a Weather Radar
Show Tracking of boundaries such as sea breezes, convective outflow boundaries, wind shifts lines, front Image
Tracking of boundaries such as sea breezes, convective outflow boundaries, wind shifts lines, front
Show Detection of areas receiving rainfall (including some measure of rain intensity Image
Detection of areas receiving rainfall (including some measure of rain intensity
Show Location and severity of thunderstorms Image
Location and severity of thunderstorms
Show Tracking of thunderstorm positions Image
Tracking of thunderstorm positions
Show Vertical wind profiler giving vertical wind profiles at least every 10 min Image
Vertical wind profiler giving vertical wind profiles at least every 10 min
Show Ability to directly measure damaging surface winds Image
Ability to directly measure damaging surface winds
Show Ability to directly measure damaging surface winds Image
Ability to directly measure damaging surface winds
Show Ability to infer risk of large hail Image
Ability to infer risk of large hail
Show Ability to infer risk of tornadoes Image
Ability to infer risk of tornadoes
Show Ability to infer risk of tornadoes Image
Ability to infer risk of tornadoes
Show Detection of smoke plumes from wildfires Image
Detection of smoke plumes from wildfires
Show Tropical Cyclones – eye and rainband tracking Image
Tropical Cyclones – eye and rainband tracking
Summary of Features Detectable by a Weather Radar

  • Detection of areas receiving rainfall (including some measure of rain intensity
  • Tracking of boundaries such as sea breezes, convective outflow boundaries, wind shifts lines, fronts
  • Location and severity of thunderstorms including tracking of their positions
  • Vertical wind profiler giving vertical wind profiles at least every 10 min
  • Ability to directly measure damaging surface winds
  • Ability to infer risk of damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail and flash flooding
  • Detection of smoke plumes from wildfires
  • Tropical Cyclones - eye and rain-band tracking