For the detection of specific weather phenomena-supercells, mini-supercells, macrobursts, lake-effect snow, and stratiform snow-the NEXRAD coverage is much greater than it was for the old system….” The improvements were illustrated in a number of report tables and figures (e.g., Fig. The NRC report concluded that, “in comparison with the old network, the NEXRAD network will cover a much broader area of the contiguous United States. The National Research Council ( NRC 1995) conducted a comprehensive assessment of the spatial coverage and detection capabilities of the new national radar network.

The radars currently are usually referred to as Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D). This program, and its component radars, was originally known as Next-Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD). The development and continued support of the radar network was, and is, a joint agency program of the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense. The implementation of a national network of operational Doppler weather radars has resulted in greatly improved precipitation and storm monitoring over the contiguous United States (e.g., Crum et al. Thus, these regions are characterized by very comprehensive radar information that could be used in many kinds of research studies. The analyses also identify several regions of the contiguous United States in which weather phenomena are sampled by many adjacent radars. These maps indicate how restricted the national radar network coverage is at low levels, which limits the usefulness of the radar data, especially for quantitative precipitation estimation. Radar coverage charts at heights of 1, 2, and 3 km above ground level illustrate the extent of low-level radar data gathered above the actual land surface. Charts generated for radar coverage at 3 and 5 km above mean sea level show that radar surveillance near 700 and 500 hPa is very limited for some portions of the contiguous United States.

This information is of importance to a wide variety of users, and potential users, of radar data from the national network. Terrain and radar beam-elevation data are used to examine the spatial coverage provided by the national operational network of Doppler weather radars.

Doppler radar eastern united states