Wis Weather Radar Columbia Sc (2024)

FAQs

Is MyRadar a good weather app? ›

With more than 50 million downloads, MyRadar has proven to be the most powerful and accurate radar + weather prediction app on the market!

Velocity data is derived from the phase, or doppler shift of the returned energy. The radar's computers will calculate the shift and determine whether the precipitation is moving toward or away from the radar, and how fast, then apply a corresponding color to those directions and speeds.

Benefits of Radar Technology

Precipitation Identification: Reliable identification and measurement of various forms of precipitation and wind events aiding in forecasting and preparedness for severe weather events. Timely Alerts: Prompt alerts for severe weather conditions enhance public safety and preparedness.

Warm colors (red) / positive values indicate wind moving away from the radar (along a radial). Cool colors (green) / negative values indicate wind moving toward the radar. Purple indicates “range folding”— where the radar cannot determine the radial velocity. Velocity image of a large-scale weather system.

The WSR-88D is one of the most powerful and advanced Weather Surveillance Doppler Radar in the world. Since first being built and tested in 1988, it has been installed and used operationally at over 160 locations across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Clime: NOAA Weather Radar Live (Android, iOS: Free)

Now known as Clime, the app formerly known as NOAA Radar Pro continues to stand out from the crowd with real-time radar delivered straight to your phone that shows you changing weather conditions around you.

Black dots represent divergence centers. Arrow length is proportional to wind speed. Negative (positive) Doppler velocities represent flow toward (away from) the radar. (

The National Weather Service's 148 WSR-88D Doppler radars can detect most precipitation within approximately 90 mi of the radar, and intense rain or snow within approximately 155 mi. However, light rain, light snow, or drizzle from shallow cloud weather systems are not necessarily detected.

Purples and blues indicate the strongest winds, while dark greens are lighter winds. The greyish shades in the middle of the spectrum indicate very light winds or none at all. Then the right side indicates echoes moving away from the radar.

On a weather radar map, a tornado is usually indicated by a smaller area of red surrounded by a larger area of green. However, modern radar systems can also indicate debris balls, a sign of a tornado on the ground.

What are the limitations of weather radar? ›

Range: The optical range of weather radars is limited to 3 -124 miles. This is due to the curvature of the earth. The radar beam travels in a straight line, meaning beyond its max range, it's unable to detect objects close to the surface of the ground.

Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation.

Purple denotes range-folding (RF), which is when the return from a prior pulse is detected during the listening period for the current pulse, and the radar is unable to determine the wind's velocity. Other radar systems commonly use this color scheme, but some may use different colors.

dBZ. Nondimensional "unit" of radar reflectivity which represents a logarithmic power ratio (in decibels, or dB) with respect to radar reflectivity factor, Z.

Decibel relative to Z, or dBZ, is a logarithmic dimensionless technical unit used in radar, mostly in weather radar, to compare the equivalent reflectivity factor (Z) of a remote object (in mm⁶ per m³) to the return of a droplet of rain with a diameter of 1 mm (1 mm⁶ per m³).

We consume data from the best sources, including our own satellites, to provide you with useful, actionable information. Our weather radar processing technology is the engine behind several of our successful consumer products.