WASHINGTON – U.S. weather forecasters are beginning the lengthy process of replacing the national network of NEXRAD WSR-88D weather radar systems and are turning to industry for suggestions on the best available technologies to do so.
Officials at the National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington last week issued a request for information (NOAANWSNEXT) on the weather radar technologies and operational concepts for the National Weather Service project.
NEXRAD – developed in collaboration by NEW, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – detects, processes, and displays hazard and routine weather information using Doppler weather radar systems that detect and produce more than 100 different long-range and high-altitude weather observations of precipitation, wind, and thunderstorms.
In operation since the early 1990s, NEXRAD provides information on location, time of arrival and severity of weather conditions to determine the best route for aircraft. It also warns the public of approaching severe weather, such as tornadoes and thunderstorms, and destructive winds.
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But NEXRAD is nearly four decades old and has exceeded its original 20-year design life. Although the system has been modernized, more than 4,000 of NEXRAD’s components are still obsolete and there are supply chain issues, putting the system at increasing risk of long-term or possibly permanent failures. NEXRAD is a product of Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, which won a government contract to build the system in 1990 after beating out Raytheon.
NOAA officials have decided it is time to replace NEXRAD to avoid disruption to the nation’s weather radars due to aging infrastructure, expand radar coverage, and create a network of flexible and scalable radars.
The current national weather radar system is a combination of the NEXRAD radar system and other sensors such as the Automated Surface Observing System and satellite sensors such as the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite.
NOAA experts are studying existing and cutting-edge technologies to improve Doppler radar’s weather monitoring capabilities of the future. From industry, NOAA is looking for commercial radars with weather detection capabilities. Experts want to know the radar’s maturity level, operating frequency bands, and timelines for future deployment.
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NOAA would like to know what software and hardware plans there are for improving these weather radar technologies over the current NEXRAD WSR-88D radar network.
Of particular interest are approaches to reduce the volume scan period of the radar in order to increase lead times and reduce the number of false alarms during severe weather events such as flash floods and tornadoes without compromising performance.
NOAA is also interested in scanning low altitudes, reducing ground clutter, maintaining low interference between the beams and the ability to incorporate data from other weather sensors. Officials are also interested in digital signal processing of the radar powerful enough to filter out complex interference from wind turbines.
Interested companies should send their responses by email to Kevin Buum at (email protected); Dan Hoffman at (email protected); and Holly Ferguson at (email protected). For more information, visit https://sam.gov/opp/48f9f8bc90d64d44a885acad343a1bb1/view.
