#7 Doppler Radar WSR88 - Essay Example

Doppler Radar WSR88 One of the instruments, and perhaps the most effective one, used to detect precipitation is Radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. Radar has been employed by the National Weather Service (NWS) since the 1940s to detect precipitation especially large scale ones like thunderstorms. Enhancements made on the original device have allowed forecasters from the NWS to perform more precise and accurate examinations of storms. Today, the NWS uses the Doppler Radar WSR88 as its precipitation detection device in more than 155 locations in the nation.

The Doppler Radar WSR88, or more popularly known as the WSR-88D, is named as such because it stands for Weather Surveillance Radar – 1988 Doppler, and was built in 1988 (Fitzpatrick 2006). The NWS has been using radar to detect precipitation since the 1940’s. However, the WSR-88D network was first installed in 1993, replacing the WSR-57 radar network. The old radar system built in 1957 required very hard to find spare parts that were mainly available in the former Soviet Union and thus required the necessary upgrade (Goldstein 2002).

Furthermore, the displays of the original data system were often confusing and were not very effective in detecting severe weather.Compared to its predecessor, the WSR-88D systems have provided a significant increase of weather data off the coasts in storms. It was built with newly developed surface-based remote sensors that have the spatial resolution needed for coastal zone studies (National Research Council (US) Panel on Coastal Meteorology 1992). Furthermore, the WSR-88D network can detect not only precipitation, but also rainfall rate, accumulated rainfall, and the location of the rainfall.

The National Weather Service and the Department of Defense have deployed and operates around 160 WSR-88D Doppler radar in the country, including in the US Territory of Guam and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (National Research Council (US) Panel on Coastal Meteorology 1992). The system uses the Doppler effect to indicate whether raindrops were moving towards the radar or away from it. The Doppler radar’s ability to detect movements has thus provided significant improvements to the meteorologist’s ability to look inside thunderstorms and find out if rotation in the cloud exists (Ahrens 2008).

It is vital to pinpoint this rotation because it usually precedes a tornado. The Doppler Radar WSR-88 is a very important device in getting necessary information about the earth’s present and future weather conditions. It has evolved from its simple radar origins and provides the National Weather Service and Department of Defense with precise and accurate measurements about pertinent weather elements.ReferencesAhrens, D. (2008). Essentials of meteorology: An invitation to the atmosphere. Cengage Learning.

Fitzpatrick, P. (2006). Hurricanes: A reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.Goldstein, M. (2002). The complete idiots guide to weather. Penguin Group (USA) Inc.National Research Council (US) Panel on Coastal Meteorology. (1992). Coastal meteorology: A review of the state of the science. National Academies Press.