Weather Radars in the US ---- An Overview and Their Applications Cai Huaqing National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) Conventional weather radar: measures intensity and position of precipitation Doppler weather radar: intensity, position and speed Polarimetric radar: intensity, position, speed, and particle shape UHF/VHF wind profiler: winds Dual-Doppler Technique Radar 1 Radar 2 3D wind fields can be reconstructed through dual-Doppler technique A List of Radars in This Talk WSR-88Ds S-POL DOWs U-Mass Tornado Radar NOAA P3 Airborne Doppler Radars ELDORA Cloud Radar TRMM Radar New Radars Under Development Operational Radars for National Weather Service (NWS) ---- WSR-88D 10 cm Wavelength Clear Air/Convective Mode WSR-88D National Mosaic NCAR S-Band Polarization Radar (S-POL) Transportable 10 cm Wavelength Dual-Polarization Doppler on Wheels (DOW) Fully Mobile 3 cm Wavelength Clear Air Capability High Resolution (25 m) Radar Reflectivity of a Tornado Viewed by DOW Tornado Eye U-MASS Tornado Radar Pencil Beam 3 mm Wavelength NOAA P3 Airborne Doppler Radars 3 cm Wavelength, Fore/Aft Scan, Dual-PRF Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA) Mounted on NRL P3 ELDORA Antenna Unique Capabilities of ELDORA 300 m along-track resolution High sensitivity for clear air capability Large unambiguous velocity (~ 80 m/s) as a result of dual-PRF technique Has been in service for more than 10 years, still the most advanced airborne Doppler radar in the world ELDORA Specifications ELDORA Airborne Doppler Radar A Typical Supercell Viewed by ELDORA A Tornado Viewed by ELDORA University of Wyoming Cloud Radar University of Wyoming KingAir What Can You See Through a Cloud Radar Space-Borne Radar Field Projects Using Radars NRL P3 2 NOAA P3s AF C-130 NOAA G-IV Hurricane Katrina (NOAA P3 LF Radar Image) P3 Eyewall Hurricane Katrina Eyewall (photographed by F. Roux) Eyewall IHOP-2002 IHOP Instruments New Developments of Radar Technology in the US Rapid scan DOW Phased-array weather radars Dual-polarization on WSR-88Ds Radar refractivity for measuring water vapor in the surface layer Dual-wave length radars (adding k-band on NCAR S-POL radar) Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of Atmosphere (CASA, mini-radars on cell phone towers) DryLine More Moisture