OSKALOOSA —
It’ll help keep people safe in stormy weather.
According to the National Weather Service, over a span of two weeks starting Sept. 10, the Doplar radar used by the National Weather Service in Des Moines will be upgraded. For this two week period, radar data will not be available from the NWS in Des Moines. However, surrounding Doplar radars in Sioux Falls, S.D., Quad Cities, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb., and others will be operational.
Jamey Robinson, Mahaska County Emergency Management coordinator, said the upgrade will allow for better storm prediction. Robinson said the upgrade, known as “dual polarization,” will also allow those at the NWS to better gage the severity of a storm complex. He also noted that the upgrade will improve local use of sirens and storm spotters during potentially dangerous weather like severe storms, which can produce tornadoes.
The upgrade will allow for 14 new radar products and services to be available to the public, according to the NWS. Dual-Pol will also allow forecasters to identify what type of precipitation is falling, as well as help improve rainfall estimates.
Doplar radars currently in use by the NWS transmit and receive radio waves in a horizontal orientation, according to the NWS. This results in the radar only measuring horizontal dimensions of “targets” such as cloud and precipitation droplets. The Dual-Pol radar transmits and receives pulses in both horizontal and vertical orientations.
Dual-Pol is expected to show significant improvements in the estimation of precipitation rates, as well as the ability to tell the difference between hail and rain, according to the NWS. The radar upgrade will also improve the ability to identify areas of heavy rainfall typically linked with flash flood events. It is also expected that there will be improved detection and mitigation of non-weather related radar echoes such as smoke plumes and ground clutter. The “melting layer,” which is helpful in identifying snow levels in higher terrain is also expected to see improvement with Dual-Pol radar.
The NWS also expects to see the full benefits of Dual-Pol radar once NWS forecasters and research meteorologists develop real-time expertise.
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Herald City Editor Andy Goodell can be reached at news2@oskyherald.com.
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Related Photos
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Use of sirens like this one on the western edge of Oskaloosa during potentially dangerous weather is expected to be improved with the advent of Dual-Pol radar from the National Weather Service. Herald photo by Andy Goodell
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