An Update on the Phased Array Radar Research Program at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory

Phased array radar (PAR) research and development continues to accelerate at NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). The Advanced Technology Demonstrator (ATD), an S-band, dual-pol PAR developed in collaboration with NSSL, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and General Dynamics, underwent integration and testing from 2018-2021 and reached initial operational capability in 2021. The last several years of testing and calibrating the ATD have resulted in a capable proof-of-concept radar that is demonstrating the benefits of dual-pol PAR applied to weather surveillance. This presentation will summarize the last several years of PAR R&D at the NSSL and detail key milestones. We will highlight challenges and successes related to testing and calibrating a dual-pol PAR, ensuring high-quality data, and collecting a variety of weather cases to showcase its versatility. We will discuss how the ATD is advancing radar science and how it may provide critical information to the National Weather Service (NWS) informing the decision as to whether PAR is an alternative for the next generation Weather Surveillance Radar.