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Measuring weather
The power of radiation reflected by particles is called reflectivity (Z). It is
related to the number of particles in a given area, like raindrops on pavement
or bugs and birds in the air. The units describing reflectivity are dBZ, or
decibels relative to Z. dBZ of near 25 is characteristic of light rain, and
returns of 65 dBZ correspond to extremely heavy rain or hail of over 15 inches
per hour! Further from the radar, the volume of air being sampled is larger as
the radar beam widens. This can be seen in the pixelated reflectivity image to
the left. Each colored rectangle, or pixel, is a sample area. You can see as
you get further from the radar, the pixels get larger.
Next page
->
remote observations, radar
Links and resources
The power of radiation reflected by particles is called reflectivity (Z). It is
related to the number of particles in a given area, like raindrops on pavement
or bugs and birds in the air. The units describing reflectivity are dBZ, or
decibels relative to Z. dBZ of near 25 is characteristic of light rain, and
returns of 65 dBZ correspond to extremely heavy rain or hail of over 15 inches
per hour! Further from the radar, the volume of air being sampled is larger as
the radar beam widens. This can be seen in the pixelated reflectivity image to
the left. Each colored rectangle, or pixel, is a sample area. You can see as
you get further from the radar, the pixels get larger.
Next page
->
remote observations, radarLinks and resources
