February 15, 2006 Hanne Murphey

Introduction to RadarMeteorology

AOS-C110

S-POL 10 cm radar

ELDORA 3cm radar

Doppler On Wheels (DOW) 3 cm radar

Types of radars

Second Trip EchoesSecond Trip Echoes

Different WeatherDifferent Weather

Types of Displays: PPI

Hook echo associated with a super cell

Doppler on Wheels (DOW)Doppler on Wheels (DOW)

Bright Band & S-shaped veering windsBright Band & S-shaped veering winds

Bright bands are an artifact of theradar. Occurs at the melting level.

S-Shaped velocity pattern withheight. Indicates veering winds orwarm air advection.

Clear Air Return with developing storms

Single Doppler VelocitySingle Doppler Velocity

Single Doppler Velocity

Courtesy Nolan Atkins

Speed ShearSpeed Shear

Shear LineShear Line

Brown and Wood JAOT 1986Brown and Wood JAOT 1986

Dryline Dryline and Cold Frontand Cold Front

Murphey et al. 2006

Example of a shear zoneExample of a shear zone

ConvergentConvergentFlowFlow

DivergentDivergentFlowFlow

Veering Winds:Veering Winds: ““S-shapedS-shaped””

Warm AirWarm Airadvectionadvection

Backing Winds:Backing Winds: ““BackwardsBackwardsS-shapedS-shaped””

Cold AirCold Air advectionadvection

Bright Band & S-shaped veering windsBright Band & S-shaped veering winds

Bright bands are an artifact of theradar. Occurs at the melting level.

S-Shaped velocity pattern withheight. Indicates veering winds orwarm air advection.

Veering andVeering and Backing WindsBacking Winds

Veering WindsVeering Winds

Backing WindsBacking Winds

Note: Radar is located to the south in both imagesNote: Radar is located to the south in both images

DivergentDivergentWindsWinds

Example:Example:downdraftsdowndrafts

RotationRotationSignatureSignature

Example:Example:tornadotornado

Hook echo associated with a super cell

Folded Velocities:Folded Velocities:

v > v > vvunambiguousunambiguous