NWS Radar Base Reflectivity 4-Panel

NWS Doppler Radar (WSR-88D) Example Products

A 4-panel of base reflectivity data at 4 different elevation angles from the KLVX WSR-88D Doppler Radar. Reflectivity shows where and how hard it is raining or snowing, as well as precipitation intensity trends and movement. Blue and green colors represent light-to-moderate rainfall. Yellow and orange colors show moderate-to-heavy precipitation, while red is very heavy rainfall and pink colors inside the red color represent hail of different sizes.

At left is a close-up of a devastating supercell thunderstorm over south-central Indiana on March 2, 2012. The storm produced an EF-4 tornado in parts of Washington and Clark counties. In the upper left panel, a classic supercell is shown at 0.5 degree elevation, with very heavy rain and hail in the storm's core, and a hook echo and "debris ball" on the southwest side of the storm in northwest Clark County. A tornado was on the ground at this time. Higher up in the storm, a "bounded weak echo region" (BWER), or small area of lower reflectivity values inside (surrounded by) an area of higher reflectivity is shown in the bottom 2 panels. This represents the location of the rotating updraft, i.e., mesocyclone in the supercell. Four-panel displays help meteorologists analyze the vertical structure of thunderstorms.

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