Ever Wonder How Doppler Radars Work?
All weather radars send out radio waves from an antenna.
Raindrops, snow crystals, hailstones, even insects or even dust, scatter or reflect some of the radio waves back to the antenna.
All weather radars convert the reflected radio waves into pictures showing the location and intensity of precipitation.
Doppler radars also measure the frequency change in returning radio waves.
Waves reflected by something moving away from the antenna change to a lower frequency, while waves from an object moving toward the antenna change to a higher frequency.
The computer that's a part of a Doppler radar uses the frequency changes to show directions and speeds of the winds blowing around the raindrops, insects and other objects that reflected the radio waves.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the National Weather Service installed Doppler radars around the USA, some television stations have their own Doppler radars, while others use images from the National Weather Service radars.
Raindrops, snow crystals, hailstones, even insects or even dust, scatter or reflect some of the radio waves back to the antenna.
All weather radars convert the reflected radio waves into pictures showing the location and intensity of precipitation.
Doppler radars also measure the frequency change in returning radio waves.
Waves reflected by something moving away from the antenna change to a lower frequency, while waves from an object moving toward the antenna change to a higher frequency.
The computer that's a part of a Doppler radar uses the frequency changes to show directions and speeds of the winds blowing around the raindrops, insects and other objects that reflected the radio waves.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the National Weather Service installed Doppler radars around the USA, some television stations have their own Doppler radars, while others use images from the National Weather Service radars.