Terminal Doppler Weather Radar

Airports with a TDWR in the US. Another in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is not shown on this map.

Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) is a Doppler weather radar system with a three-dimensional "pencil beam" used primarily for the detection of hazardous wind shear conditions, precipitation, and winds aloft on and near major airports situated in climates with great exposure to thunderstorms in the United States.[1] As of 2011, all were in-service with 45 operational radars, some covering multiple airports in major metropolitan locations, across the United States & Puerto Rico.[2][3] Several similar weather radars have also been sold to other countries such as China (Hong Kong).[4][5] Funded by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), TDWR technology was developed in the early 1990s at Lincoln Laboratory, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to assist air traffic controllers by providing real-time wind shear detection and high-resolution precipitation data.[6]

The primary advantage of TDWRs over previous weather radars is that it has a finer range resolution—meaning it can see smaller areas of the atmosphere.[1] The reason for the resolution is that the TDWR has a narrower beam than traditional radar systems, and that it uses a set of algorithms to reduce ground clutter.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Terminal Doppler Weather Radar - Supplemental Product Generator (TDWR-SPG)". National Weather Service. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Search Proximity to Terminal Doppler Weather Radars (TDWRs)". Spectrum Bridge, Inc. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  3. ^ "TDWR Locations and Frequencies". WISPA. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WUNDER was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Chi M. Shun and Sharon S. Y. Lau (2000). "Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) observation of atmospheric flow over complex terrain during tropical cyclone passages". Proc. SPIE. 4152 (42): 42. Bibcode:2000SPIE.4152...42S. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.551.3486. doi:10.1117/12.410622. S2CID 130709921.
  6. ^ a b "Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR)". MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Retrieved 4 August 2009.