Radar Studies of Aviation Hazards: Part 4 Utility of WSR-88D Doppler Spectrum Width.

The behavior of the WSR-88D Doppler spectrum width parameter in hazardous storms is investigated for a variety of geographical locations. Analyses employ 3D visualization to identify the major associations between regions of high spectrum width and storm precipitation structures. Also, Doppler spectrum width is correlated with other collocated radar measurables on a radar sample volume scale to observe data interdependencies. The spectrum width is found useful for the detection of very large hail, and for surface wind shift features such as gust fronts and thin lines. Often, the spectrum width signatures are more readily detected than those traditionally employed. It is also useful for identifying data artifacts such as clutter, sidelobe contamination, incorrect range placement, insufficient SNR thresholding, and potential receiver saturation events. Automated methods for removing most artifacts appear to be feasible, and incorporation of spectrum width into automated detection routines is urged.