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The spread in radial speed is an indication of wind turbulence.Īnother improvement in the weather information provided by Nexrad is the digital processing of radar data, a procedure that renders the information in a form that can be interpreted by an observer who is not necessarily a meteorologist. In addition to measuring precipitation (from the intensity of the echo signal) and radial speed (from the Doppler frequency shift), Nexrad also measures the spread in radial speed (difference between the maximum and the minimum speeds) of the precipitation particles within each radar resolution cell. The pulse Doppler weather radars employed by the National Weather Service, which are known as Nexrad, make quantitative measurements of precipitation, warn of potential flooding or dangerous hail, provide wind speed and direction, indicate the presence of wind shear and gust fronts, track storms, predict thunderstorms, and provide other meteorological information. (Rotation is indicated when the measurement of the Doppler frequency shift shows that the wind is coming toward the radar at one angle and away from it at a nearby angle.) Since tornadoes, mesocyclones (which spawn tornadoes), hurricanes, and other hazardous weather phenomena tend to rotate, measurement of the radial wind speed as a function of viewing angle will identify rotating weather patterns. The Doppler frequency shift is important because it is related to the radial velocity of the precipitation blown by wind (the component of the wind moving either toward or away from the radar installation). A major improvement in the capability of weather radar came about when engineers developed new radars that could measure the Doppler frequency shift in addition to the magnitude of the echo signal reflected from precipitation. This application of radar is well known in the United States from the familiar television weather reports of precipitation observed by the radars of the National Weather Service.
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