NWS Doppler Radar
The WSR-88D (Weather Surveillance Radar 1988 Doppler) was installed at the NWS Office in Green Bay in late 1994, and commissioned on July 26, 1995.
| NEXRAD was installed as part of the National Weather Service (NWS) Moderization in the 1990s, and is located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. This network (shown at right) of radars is mostly owned and maintained by the NWS, but the network includes Department of Defense and Federal Aviation Adminstration radars as well. |
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The WSR-88D (also known as "NEXRAD" for Next Generation Weather Radar) excels in detecting the severe weather events that threaten life and property, from early detection of damaging winds to estimating rainfall amounts for use in river and flood forecasting. Most important, the WSR-88D can increase advance warning--and the specificity of such warning--for short-lived events such as tornadoes, downbursts and flash floods.
Using Doppler technology, the WSR-88D calculates both the speed and direction of motion of severe storms. By providing data on the wind patterns within developing storms, the new WSR-88D identifies the conditions leading to severe weather such as tornadoes. This means earlier detection of the precursors to tornadoes, as well as data on the direction and speed of these storms once they form.
