Update on the National Weahter Radar Testbed (Phased-Array)

The National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) is now functioning as a research tool in Norman, Oklahoma. The NWRT was developed as a result of a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory, the United States Navy's Office of Naval Research, Lockheed Martin Corporation, the University of Oklahoma's Electrical and Computing Engineering Department and School of Meteorology, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the Tri-Agencies' (Department of Commerce, Defense and Transportation) Radar Operations Center, the Federal Aviation Administration's Technical Center and Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc.. Using a Navy SPY-1A phased array antenna system, the NWRT provides the first phased array radar available on a full-time basis to the meteorological research community and for testing of the concept of a multi-mission phased array radar (MPAR) system.

Only a few data sets were collected during the 2006 storm season due to the limited amount of severe weather. Results from the 2007 storm season will be reported on along with planned system upgrades and a general overview of the research projects conducted in 2006 and 2007. We will also report on the progress of making the NWRT available as a national resource.