Weather radar

From Glossary of Meteorology



weather radar

Generally, any radar that is suitable or can be used for the detection of precipitation or clouds.

The general qualifications for weather radars are 1) a wavelength between 1 and 30 cm, 2) pulsed transmission with high peak power (kilowatts to megawatts), 3) relatively narrow beamwidths, 4) pulse lengths of a few microseconds or less, 5) pulse repetition frequencies of several hundred hertz, and 6) automatic azimuth or elevation angle scanning. Electronic circuits and signal processing permit the quantitative measurement of radar reflectivity factor or signal strength and, for Doppler radars, the radial velocity.
Compare wind profiler, MST radar.


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