Addressing Data Quality Challenges for the NCMS Dual-Pol Radars in the UAE

The National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) operates a network of C-band weather radars, for purposes such as surveillance, severe weather warnings, airport wind shift forecasts, and precipitation estimation. The atmospheric conditions, electromagnetic environment and military activity in the area lead to a number of data quality challenges for the radar network. These include (a) frequent and severe anomalous propagation, (b) intermittent sea clutter returns, (c) interference from wireless LAN equipment and other radars, and (d) frequent echoes from military chaff. In order to improve the utility of the data, NCMS has, in collaboration with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), developed a series of data quality algorithms which run in real time on the radar network. We describe the design of the algorithms, how they are optimized for observed conditions, and present the results from case studies.