Joint Agency Doppler Technology Tests

Book excerpt: The Joint Doppler Operational Project was a cooperative inter-agency program directed toward the evaluation of recent advances in Doppler weather radar technology for operational applications by the participating agencies. The first two years of testing demonstrated the decisive superiority of Doppler techniques, in comparison with conventional methods, for reliable identification and early warning of tornadoes and other severe thunderstorm hazards. During the final year, the program evaluated the format and effectiveness of manually aided automatic display products transmitted in near-real time to operational agencies remotely located from the radar. Experiences of operating personnel utilizing these new techniques provide input toward system definition of NEXRAD, the Next Generation Weather Radar network now under development. One of the most encouraging examples of the enhanced warning capability realized by the remote transmission of the automated Doppler format was a successful forecast of severe weather for an Air Force Base which was a crucial factor in saving a fleet of aircraft from severe hail damage.