MPAR Wind Shear Experiment

The Multi-function Phased Array Radar Wind Shear Experiment (MPAR WSE) collected data sets from a variety of radar platforms in central Oklahoma 15 April – 30 June 2011. The experiment's primary goal was to provide the radar data sets needed to investigate how differences in radar platforms, especially the TDWR and the S-band National Weather Radar Testbed phased array radar (NWRT PAR), impact wind shear detection performance. If TDWRs are to be replaced by MPARs, then the wind-shear detection performance must not suffer due to the change in systems. Given the focus on low-altitude wind shear detection, observations were collected within 60 km of the Oklahoma City TWDR. In addition to the TDWR and NWRT PAR, data were collected from the following polarimetric research radar systems: the KOUN WSR-88D prototype radar and the X-band PX-1000 mobile radar. As the TDWR and NWRT PAR do not have dual polarization capability, these nearby radars aid investigation the utility of polarimetric variables in microburst prediction and detection. A variety of wind shear events (magnitude and scale) were observed from multicell segments and squall lines. This paper presents an overview of the observing systems, with specific examples of radar data from each platform.