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Reflectivity data can be viewed in a four-panel layout in order to assess four different radar elevation
angles (i.e., four separate levels in the atmosphere) at the same
time. A four-panel display especially is useful to help assess the
vertical structure of thunderstorms. In the accompanying figure,
the upper-left (lower-right) panel shows data at the lowest (highest)
altitude. Forecasters look for various signatures in reflectivity
four-panels, including the vertical orientation and depth
of high reflectivity cores (the orange and red colors) and storm
tilt with height. This assists in the warning decision making
process. The image at left shows a classic supercell just east of Bowling
Green, Kentucky on April 16, 1998. A hook echo is present in eastern
Warren county while a bounded weak echo region (BWER; small area of lower
reflectivity values coincident with the rotating updraft) exists in
west-central Barren county. The storm produced large hail and tornadoes as
it moved east across south-central Kentucky. Additional images from
this case are available in the NWS
Louisville WSR-88D images section. |
