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NWS Doppler Radar (WSR-88D) Example Products

A 4-panel of storm-relative motion (SRM) velocity data at 4 different elevation angles from the KLVX WSR-88D Doppler Radar. SRM data depicts estimated velocity values relative to entities moving through their environment (e.g., the wind a thunderstorm "feels" as it moves). Green (red) colors depict winds moving toward (away from) the radar location (at Ft. Knox for KLVX radar).

At left is a 4-panel SRM display that matches the 4-panel reflectivity display on the sample Doppler radar data page from the tornadic supercell thunderstorm over south-central Indiana on March 2, 2012. In the top left panel, a tight, strong, cyclonic (counterclockwise) rotational couplet (low-level mesocyclone) is evident in northwest Clark County where an EF3-EF4 tornado occurred. Higher up in the storm, SRM showed a deep-layered mesocyclone (top right, bottom right), with storm-top divergence at lower left.

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