Enhancing Access to NEXRAD Data--A Critical National Resource (1999)

As you know, the WSR-88D radar network is widely considered to be a success story in the context of the National Weather Service modernization. Many of the anticipated benefits related to the real-time depiction of weather and very short-term prediction of severe storms equal or exceed expectations. In spite of this success, there are considerable concerns pertaining to the utility of NEXRAD data for climate applications and quantitative research, as evidenced by the discussions at the March 18–19 NRC GEWEX panel meeting.

The issues of NEXRAD-assisted quantitative precipitation estimation and forecasting are central to the objectives of the

GEWEX Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP) to: (1) determine the variability of the Earth's hydrological cycle and energy exchange budget over a continental-scale; (2) develop and validate techniques for coupling atmospheric and surface hydrological processes in climate models; and (3) to provide a basis for translating the effects of future climate change to impacts on regional water resources.

As noted by Greg Mandt, the Acting Director of Meteorology of the NWS, at the recent NRC GEWEX panel meeting, the panel could provide valuable advice to the NWS in the post-modernization era, as the NWS assesses its options for increasing the utility and availability of NEXRAD data. We, therefore, request that the NRC GEWEX panel prepare a brief letter report to advise the relevant USGCRP agencies on promising strategies that might be pursued to most effectively realize the large potential of NEXRAD data for hydrometeorological and climate research and applications.