Mind The Gaps

NY NEXRAD. There is a large wind farm nearby with turbines oriented from due north through southeast of the radar. The turbines are close enough (within 18 km) to cause spurious multipath scattering that extends well beyond the wind farm and contaminates data at multiple scanning elevation angles."üOur modern Nexrad (Next-Generation Weather Radar) system is still based on radar

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Nexrad weather radar displays have significant latency (15-20 minutes), making them a historical record rather than real-time weather.
Both weather and ATC radar systems suffer from critical coverage gaps, especially below 10,000 feet, caused by distance, terrain, and Earth's curvature.
Pilots must be highly aware of these limitations, as radar can miss substantial low-altitude weather and provide misleadingly clear pictures, necessitating skepticism and alternative information sources.

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Most pilots have heard warnings about the timeliness (or lack thereof) of Nexrad radar. Better expressed as latency, the weather you see on your tablet, smartphone or multi-function display from providers like SXM or the FAA’s ADS-B could already be 15-20 minutes out of date. It can’t be said enough: What you see on your Nexrad display is better described as a historical record and has little to do with what’s happening right now.