![]() ![]() The TDWR transmitter is turned off at the 338 degree radial, for elevation slices below 2.5 degrees, to eliminate microwave interference with a communication tower, see Figure 3.įigure 3. However, the TDWR does not use clutter suppression in order to remain sensitive enough to detect areas of wind shear, low level boundaries, and other features important to aviation interests. TDWR radar returns from the eastern slopes of the Appalachians.Īll regional radars encounter this problem and use several clutter suppression techniques to remove non-weather returns. Since the beam is nearly blocked by the mountains, the returns are usually assigned a high dBz, see Figure 2 below.įigure 2. Due to the low angle, the radar beam intersects the high terrain and energy is returned to the radar. The long range scan of the TDWR uses the 0.5 degree slice. How often does the radar generate a new image? Where can I find current Charlotte TDWR velocity and reflectivity images?Ĥ. Why are the velocity and reflectivity images missing northwest of the radar?ģ. Why does the radar detect high reflectivity over Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey Counties on the long range scan?Ģ. Radar reflectivity at 1.0 degree scan from the TCLT TDWR at 1842 UTC. Radar reflectivity at 0.5 degree scan from the KGSP WSR-88D at 1844 UTC (left). Figure 1 illustrates the difference between the KGSP WSR-88D and the TCLT TDWR during the Mother's Day 2006 supercell over northern Cabarrus County.įigure 1. Both the finer resolution and closer proximity of the TDWR to the Carolina Piedmont makes significant improvements to the Doppler radar data used by warning meteorologist. In comparison, the lowest scan from the TCLT radar is only 315 feet. Due to the curvature of the Earth's surface, the lowest standard atmosphere view from the KGSP radar over center city Charlotte is 7245 feet above ground level. The TCLT radar is located 81 miles northeast of the KGSP radar. One of the greatest advantages of the TCLT TDWR is its location under the KGSP WSR-88D coverage area. Table 1 shows a comparison of technical specifications between the TDWR and the WSR-88D. The average beam width for the WSR-88D is 0.95 degrees. Each radial in the TDWR has a beam width of 0.55 degrees. The angular (azimuth) resolution of the TDWR is nearly twice what is available in the WSR- 88D. The upgraded signal processor has improved data quality and increased sensitivity on the Charlotte TDWR. The installation of a new signal processor for was completed on September, 13 th, 2013. ![]() By contrast, the WSR-88D employed by the National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD) has a maximum range gate resolution of 250 m for Doppler and 1 km for surveillance data. It has a resolution of 150 m for reflectivity data within 135 kilometers (km) and 300 m from beyond 135 km to 460 km. The TDWR utilizes a range gate resolution of 150 meters (m) for Doppler data. The range resolution of the TDWR is finer than what is available in the Weather Surveillance Radar, 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) or any other FAA radar that has weather channel capability. The TCLT TDWR is located 9.25 miles northeast of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, or 35.34N and 80.89W. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) installed TDWRs near the largest airports which were vulnerable to wind shear conditions (thunderstorms, frontal passages, etc.). The Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) is a high quality, dedicated meteorological surveillance radar deployed near many of the larger airports in the U.S. Terminal Doppler Weather Radar Information
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