Abstract
Abstract Theoretical calculations and experiments verify that the National Weather Service WSR-88D radars have the sensitivity to detect nonprecipitating clouds, but show that significant obstacles impair the generality of this cloud sensing technique. Bragg scatter from refractive index inhomogeneities can be of the same magnitude as cloud echoes under many conditions, whereupon interpretation of WSR-88D echoes can be either complicated or impossible. Moreover, problems with echoes from ground clutter and from insects, birds, and other floating debris hinder WSR-88D cloud detection capabilities, particularly at low elevation angles. To illustrate these problems WSR-88D reflectivities collected using volume coverage pattern (VCP) 21 from the months of March and October 1996 were compared with collocated reflectivities obtained from a zenith-pointing 94-GHz cloud radar located in central Pennsylvania. Coincident echo detection occurred 82% and 39% of the time, while the WSR-88D had significant detections 7...
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