Considerations in Estimating Horizontal Wind Gradients from an Individual Doppler Radar or a Network of Wind Profilers

Steven D. Smith NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma

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Robert M. Rabin NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma

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Abstract

Applications of Doppler weather radar data to the analysis of wind fields are reviewed. Radial velocity measurements from a single radar are used to estimate horizontal wind vectors within small azimuthal sectors using two different models. One assumes a uniform wind, the other a linear wind within the sector. Errors in wind estimates owing to gradients of wind are derived using harmonic analysis. The radar data analysis techniques are tested on complex wind patterns which were reconstructed from dual-Doppler radar measurements.

Abstract

Applications of Doppler weather radar data to the analysis of wind fields are reviewed. Radial velocity measurements from a single radar are used to estimate horizontal wind vectors within small azimuthal sectors using two different models. One assumes a uniform wind, the other a linear wind within the sector. Errors in wind estimates owing to gradients of wind are derived using harmonic analysis. The radar data analysis techniques are tested on complex wind patterns which were reconstructed from dual-Doppler radar measurements.

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