Preliminary Memphis FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)/Lincoln Laboratory Operational Weather Studies Results.
Abstract
The principal sensor for the measurement program was the S-band FAA-Lincoln Laboratory Testbed Doppler Weather Radar (FL2). Both FL2 and a C-band Doppler Weather Radar operated by the University of North Dakota obtained reflectivity, mean velocity and spectrum width measurements with a radar geometry and scan sequences to facilitate determining the surface outflow features of microbursts at the anticipated ranges. This report describes the principal initial results from the Memphis operations, stressing the results from 1985 when the FL2 radar was fully operational. These results are compared to those from previous studies of wind-shear programs, e.g., NIMROD near Chicago, JAWS and CLAWS near Denver. During 1985, 102 microbursts were identified in real time along with 81 gust fronts. One of the dominant results is that most microbursts in the mid-south are wet; that is, they are accompanied by significant rainfall. This is in contrast, for example, to the results from Denver where more than half of all microbursts have little or no appreciable rain reaching the ground. Aside from this major difference, microbursts near Memphis were similar to those found elsewhere in the country in terms of wind shear magnitude. The report also gives more representative results from the aircraft operations and discusses the effectiveness of the ground-clutter filters used on the FL-2 radar.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA182730
Entities
People
- J. T. Distefano
- M. M. Wolfson
- R. E. Rinehart
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology