This measurement is used to determine the distance and direction of the object from the radar. ( Flash animation loop - 1567 kb)ĭoppler Radar detects the presence and location of an object by bouncing an electromagnetic signal off of it and measuring the time it takes for the signal to return. The ability to detect rotation in storms is one of the key advances in radar capability that Doppler technology brings to the forecasting of tornadoes. The Doppler radar image shows strong in-bound (bright green) winds right next to strong outbound winds (bright red) - a classic tornadic signature. Likely tornado indicated by NWS Northern Indiana Doppler radar 320 pm over Van Wert, OH. Here a Doppler velocity product from the NWS Northern Indiana WSR-88D captures the dramatic signature of a tornado over Van Wert County, Ohio. As Dick Wagenmaker, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the White Lake NWS office observes, 'The advent of Doppler radar allows meteorologists the ability to better detect tornadoes, especially the F4s and F5s like the West Bloomfield and Flint-Beecher tornadoes, than we could with earlier technology.' The significant improvement in the WSR-88D's ability to isolate tornadic features in radar data from earlier radars is easily apparent in the image below.

And it is the Doppler technology that has revolutionized weather forecasting over the last decade by allowing meteorologists to observe storm motion. The truly modern era in weather radar surveillance began in Detroit on Jwhen the WSR-88D began operations at the new NWS office serving Southeast Michigan from White Lake, Oakland County. This tornado was rated an F-4 making it the last violent tornado to strike Southeast Michigan. National Weather Service WSR-57 radar image from Detroit Metro Airport, Maat 7:15 pm - just about touchdown of West Bloomfield tornado. The picture below shows the WSR-57 image of the tornado that struck West Bloomfield in Oakland County on March 20, 1976. The WSR-57 offered some improvement over the WSR-3, but with coarse reflectivity and no velocity data available, the ability to forecast tornadoes was limited. Detroit received its WSR-57 on September 12, 1961. Over the next few years, this technology was installed across the country. In 1959 the first 'modern' radar, the WSR-57, was commissioned at the Miami hurricane forecast center. Observed by the Topeka Weather Bureau WSR-3 radar.

An example of the resolution of the WSR-3 radar is shown in this picture.Ī view of the hook echo associated with the Meriden, Kansas, tornado. This radar, installed at Metro Airport, was commissioned on May 15, 1957. The first weather radar in Southeast Michigan was a Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR)-3 radar, a surplus Navy 3 cm radar. Here we explore the evolution of weather radar in Southeast Michigan from the earliest WSR-3 to today's WSR-88D Doppler radar.Īt the time of the Flint-Beecher tornado, there was no weather radar network in existence. Arguably, no technological advance has had a more dramatic effect on issuing tornado warnings, than has radar. Increased scientific understanding of tornadoes and technological advances have allowed the National Weather Service to dramatically improve tornado warning capabilities over the last 50 years.

How Does Doppler Radar Work? | Accessing Radar Data Introduction

Topeka radar in motion