In-flight icing is a contributing factor to many aviation accidents, and the reliable detection of this hazard is a major concern to aviation safety. As an aircraft flies through supercooled liquid water (SLW), the droplets freeze onto the leading edges of the airframe and consequently alter the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft. In the past 30 years, several advances in the research and detection of SLW have been made. This includes the development of NCAR's Current/Forecast Icing Product's (CIP/FIP), the Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) and the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System (NIRSS). An upcoming improvement in the polarization of the network of nationwide NEXRAD radars has led to research to determine the ability of polarized radar in detecting SLW.

The purpose of this analysis is to determine the relationship between reflectivity in both a vertically pointing 9 mm wavelength Ka-Band pulsed Doppler radar and a scanning 10 cm wavelength pulsed S-Band Polarized radar (Colorado State University's CHILL radar) in scenarios with known in-flight icing conditions. Comparisons are made for the winter of 2010/2011 when NIRSS was positioned in Platteville, Colorado. Pilot Reports (PIREPS) will be used to help determine which synoptic situations involved times of icing conditions. Inferences are made as to mean icing heights and mean moment profiles which are constructed during cases when Rayleigh conditions existed for both systems.