Year One of the Dual-Polarization WSR-88D Deployment: Lessons Learned and Learning Lessons

In September 2011, the Radar Operations Center began the operational deployment of dual-polarization technology at its 160 Weather Surveillance Radar – 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) sites. As of March 21, 2012, approximately 46 radars have been upgraded to collect these new data. In coordination with this upgrade, the Warning Decision Training Branch (WDTB) developed training for National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters and NWS partners to help them learn the fundamentals of the new radar products and their applications. This presentation will discuss the dual-polarization radar training that's available from WDTB for broadcasters to incorporate into their professional development.

The WDTB's training was developed using the significant research that's been conducted on dual-polarization radar over the past two decades or more. However, the WSR-88D technology upgrade has greatly increased the amount and variety of dual-polarization radar data available. This increase in available data, and other factors, have led to new and better understanding of certain aspects of how dual-polarization technology on the WSR-88D will impact users of its data. In most cases, the base data collected over the last year has reinforced our previous understanding of dual-polarization radar from research. Examples include dual-polarization radar data's value in detecting hail, identifying tornadic debris signatures, and differentiating between precipitation and non-precipitation echoes. In some cases, the base data have provided details not seen before in previous research. Examples include Differential Reflectivity values from non-precipitation targets and the detection of multiple melting layers near the radar. As a result, the WDTB dual-polarization training web site adds new material on a routine basis to address these lessons learned since the system-wide deployment began. We encourage broadcast meteorologists to visit the WDTB web site to keep up to date on these lessons learned.