New BWER Algorithm

The new version of the algorithm has the following features:

  • Searches in 8 horizontal directions, 8 upward-diagonal directions, and the vertical direction, for a total of 17 directions. 
  • The vertical direction must satisfy a required reflectivity gradient threshold or the bin will fail to be called a BWER bin, regardless of the other horizontal gradient values. 
  • The vertical gradient threshold is set to a configurable 5 dBZ per radar bin. 
  • The reflectivity gradient threshold in the horizontal and upward-diagonal directions is a configurable 8 dBZ as before; however a half-hit count is given if the gradient is at least a configurable 6 dBz per radar bin. 
  • Two count points are given for a full hit and one point for a half hit.  Thus a perfect hit in all 17 directions would give a BWER count of 34 in the first pass of the algorithm. 
  • The final BWER count threshold after the second pass of the algorithm is set to a configurable value of 18, where the count must greater than or equal to 18 for the radar bin to be called a BWER bin.
  • The minimum reflectivity required in the BWER wall is a configurable 38 dBZ. 
  • The search distance is a configurable number of kilometres, currently set to 10 km. 
  • By only examining the radar bins that have the required vertical reflectivity gradient and a sufficient number of horizontal gradient hit counts, the algorithm's execution speed can be increased dramatically.
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