Assessment of Nexrad Coverage and Associated Weather Services (1995) / Chapter Skim
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3 Comparison of Weather Services: Pre-NEXRAD and NEXRAD
3 Comparison of Weather Services: Pre-NEXRAD and NEXRAD
Pages 36-46
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From page 36... ...
In the modernized NWS, there will be a host of new observational systems available to weather forecasters. These will include the NEXRAD network; the ASOS, which continuously provides surface observations of temperature, wind, humidity, pressure, and over atmospheric variables; the next generation of geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites; and a national lightning network.
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From page 37... ...
As in the past, the composite system is also augmented substantially by such things as experienced local spotter and cooperative observer networks, hydrometeorological instrumentation that supports the work of the WFOs and the RFCs; and highly skilled forecasting staff who consider local geographical characteristics in their day-to-day forecasting responsibilities. These local characteristics might include terrain effects that produce elevated heat sources and are, therefore, preferred regions for thunderstorm development.
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From page 38... ...
38 Assessment of NEXRAD Coverage A CO/VCEPt OF COVERAGE ., i_ G O E S ~ \ ~ R H Y D R O __ k ''I -- - X ~ H Y Din A S O S ¢~ ~T OP OF TR O POSPHERE A S O S ~SURFACE Figure 3-1 National Weaner Service concept of observation coverage when the modernization is fully implemented. Courtesy of NOAA/NWS.
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From page 39... ...
also offer a national mosaic radar reflectivity product that is widely used in the commercial sector and in government, including the National Meteorological Center and the National Severe Storms Forecast Center. The NEXRAD system allows forecasters at each WFO to access some radar products from several neighboring radars.
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From page 40... ...
~ Warning performance exhibits considerable variation from station to station and from year to year for reasons that involve factors other than the radar performance. In addition to ordinary random variations, these reasons include both human factors and the performance of other components of the composite system, the storm climatology of the area, and the time of day of storm occurrence.
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From page 41... ...
:" ~ ~.a _ -; ~';' - ';'L'';-; O 1989 1990 1991 11992 1993 ~94 Dr+NEXRAD NEXRAD 1 1 500 i I 4°° c ~300 1 m ~1200 5 t '1100 :~- T 1 | ~ POD ~ FAR -* ~Namings .- #Events ~ Figure 3-2 History of severe-storm probability of detection and false-alarm ratio at six field offices before and after installation of NEXRAD.
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From page 42... ...
Thus, the trends in the POD/FAR statistics represent some indeterminate combination of improvements in the warning services and enhancements in the verification program. Figure 3-3 shows POD and FAR statistics as a function of distance from NEXRADs to the centers of the served County Warning Areas for the same six sites shown in Figure 3-2.
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From page 43... ...
These data are shown wi~ distance from ~e NI1XRAD for ~e same six field offices depicted in Figure 3-2. Courtesy of NWS.
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From page 44... ...
- ~ A en ~ ~ o o o to ~ ~ - ~ 1 1 1 1 , 1 1 1 in B B et: ~.
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From page 45... ...
o ~ rat - ~ ~To ~ to pa 6D to He to oh :b p oh Q PA ~D p p o hi.
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From page 46... ...
is confident that overall increases in warning performance are likely at all sites. This improvement will stem from the use of the new technology, the extensive training provided to all the NEXRAD operators, the sharing of lessons learned within the NEXRAD community, the continuing development efforts of the Science Operations Officers and the Operational Support Facility, and similar efforts O The data regarding warning performance as a function of distance from a NEXRAD site present a more mixed picture.
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