Weather radar is a vital instrument for observing the atmosphere to help provide weather forecasts and issue weather warnings to the public. The next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) system, in particular, has contributed to greatly improve National Weather Service forecasts and warnings. The continued advances in weather radar technologies, and their use, provides a motivation for appraising the status of the current NEXRAD system, and identifying the most promising approaches for the development of its eventual replacement. The National Research Council, Committee on Weather Radar Technology Beyond NEXRAD, was charged by NEXRAD sponsoring agencies (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, United States Air Force, and United States Navy):

To determine the state of knowledge regarding ground-based weather surveillance radar technology and identify the most promising approaches for the design of the replacement for the present Doppler Weather Radar. Specifically, the committee:

1. Examined the state of the present radar technologies; 2. Identified new processes for data analyses; and 3. Estimated the maturity of the various capabilities and identify the most promising approaches.

This paper presents an overview of the Committee report.