Terminal Radar: It’s the Weather Pilots Don’t See

Many approach control facilities have airport surveillance radar physically located on the field.

Scott Dennstaedt, Ph.D

Monday, May 26, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

During the warm season, many pilots will tell you that they are dependent on their datalink weather. [Courtesy: Scott Dennstaedt]

Key Takeaways:

In high-impact terminal areas, air traffic controllers (ATCs) are crucial for guiding pilots through hazardous weather, as their near real-time data from Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) and Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) overcomes the latency of cockpit datalink systems.
Airport Surveillance Radars (ASR-9/11) detect both aircraft and weather, with enhancements like the Weather Systems Processor (WSP) for low-level wind shear detection.
Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) provides high-resolution, near real-time wind data, specifically excelling at detecting microbursts and wind shear events, even from seemingly benign storm cells, which has significantly reduced wind shear-related accident fatalities.
When microbursts are detected, TDWR generates specific alerts that ATCs relay to pilots, detailing expected airspeed losses and enabling informed decisions or the execution of escape procedures.

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Even if you have a datalink weather capability in the cockpit, don’t give up on your air traffic controllers. Many other technologies are at work—albeit unseen, but critical to get the pilot back on the ground safely.

This is especially true when flying through a high-impact terminal area during the warm season when convective SIGMETs are sprinkled nearly everywhere. Your satellite-based weather receiver becomes less effective in the busy terminal area due to its latency—especially if an update or two is missed. The good news is that some approach controllers are armed with near real-time weather data from two additional sources to include the Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) and Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR). Even though the controller can’t see your view outside of the cockpit, they can offer near real-time guidance around the most significant cells. This is especially critical when microbursts have reared their ugly head in and around the terminal area.