The National Weather Service (NWS) is exploring the use of weather data from various Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radars in the United States to improve the accuracy and lead time for severe weather warnings. These data have been made available on a limited basis to a few NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) as a proof-of-concept demonstration. These data have proven to be a valuable supplement to the NWS primary weather radar, the Weather Surveillance Radar – 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D).

This paper compares data available from the WSR-88D and the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) and the Air Route Surveillance Radar, Model 4 (ARSR-4). Examples will be used to illustrate near-simultaneous interrogation of storms from the different radars. Beam characteristics and scan strategies will also be discussed.