I just noticed a line of storms in wales and just wondered how the rain radar
works in areas that are mountainous. Presumably it only work above the tops
of the mountains but even then, if you have a radar station near sea level
the nearest mountain will create a huge radio shadow area behind and above it,
so how do they get around that? Multiple stations or something smarter?

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Spud

On Thu, 13 Jul 2017 09:31:24 +0000 (UTC)
d wrote:

I just noticed a line of storms in wales and just wondered how the rain radar
works in areas that are mountainous. Presumably it only work above the tops
of the mountains but even then, if you have a radar station near sea level
the nearest mountain will create a huge radio shadow area behind and above
it, so how do they get around that? Multiple stations or something smarter?


Yes there is a radar network and an obstacle map. There is an
algorithm to allow areas that cannot be seen one radar to be filled in by the
best other available (usually one with lowest beam at shortest range). There is
then a more complicated algorithm to blend all radars together and adjust for
any anaprop. After that automatic calibration takes place with check gauges.
Then a composite map is formed and displayed. That is it in a nutshell there
are more complications like converting radar reflectivity to rainfall rate but
that is another story.

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