An Integrated Approach to the Display of Doppler Radar and Other Meteorological Data

Though a weather radar is one of the most important sources of information when hazardous weather threatens, the well-prepared forecaster will want to consult other information also. For this purpose, effective merging of radar and other types of data in a common display is vital. The choice of coordinate system should not be made lightly; it depends upon many factors, including available computing resources, volume of data to be remapped, size of area viewed, requirements for position accuracy, and user preference. Once all data are in a common projection, the way is open for many effective combinations of meteorological and hydrological data. Compositing radar data with complementary information from satellites, lightning detection systems, drainage and basin maps, and geopolitical data has proven to be valuable. Three compositing techniques meet most needs: a simple overlay of graphical information upon an image, toggling between two images, and fading out one image while another fades in. Forecasters deal more easily with full-volume scan radar data if they can view reflectivity and radial velocity data together and have the option of slicing the data horizontally and vertically. They save precious minutes in critical situations through use of a semi-automated system for generating warning messages.