Warning Improvements
WSR-88D/TDWR Operational Product Development and Improvement
 "Horizontal wind field calculated using data from two doppler radars")
Horizontal wind field calculated using data from two Doppler radars (a WSR-88D and a TDWR) Larger image
 "An example of the higher spatial resolution radar information available from the TDWR, compared to the WSR-88D.")
An example of the higher spatial resolution radar information available from the TDWR, compared to the WSR-88D. Larger image
The Severe Weather Warning Applications and Technology Transfer
(SWAT) Group works with the National Weather Service Radar Operations Center
(NWS ROC 
)
and the FAA to
enhance the performance of the nation's operational weather radar systems.
These radar systems include:
- WSR-88D (also known as NEXRAD) radars, which provide data to meteorologists for identifying, tracking, and predicting dangerous weather, and
- TDWR (Terminal Doppler Weather Radar) which is implemented in and around airports, to detect windshear and microbursts associated with convective storms and enhance the safety of air travel.
NSSL personnel are currently working to:
- Determine whether using the routines which filter radar data for non-weather echoes will help the performance of the WSR-88D severe weather detection algorithms,
- Investigate whether a new velocity dealiasing algorithm can improve the quality of TDWR and WSR-88D data, and
- Implement and test techniques to determine the horizontal wind field, using data either from a single radar or multiple radars.
NSSL began providing realtime TDWR data to the Norman
NWS forecast office in
the late 1990s, and together we have demonstrated the operational utility of
TDWR data in enhanced forecast and warning decision-making. The ability to
view TDWR data is now being implemented at NWS forecast offices nationwide.
