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Weather forecasts allow the general people to prepare for the worst. Be it rainfall or thunderstorms, these weather forecasts can prepare us for anything that Mother Nature throws at us. And all this is possible thanks to weather radars.

Take the recent storms in Bradenton, Manatee County for example. The storms damaged a lot of houses and public property. However, a lot of the damage was minimized, and weather stations were able to predict future weather conditions that helped minimize more damage and save lives.

All this was made possible because of the Bradenton weather radar. These weather radars are stationed in several places around the US, as well as different parts of the world. And their sole responsibility is to monitor weather conditions, give accurate forecasts.

Having understood their importance, one question easily pops up in minds – how do these weather radars work, and what makes them so accurate. Let us try to figure all that out.

How Do Weather Radars Work?

Weather radars work like any other type of radar. They use the principle of echoes to understand the obstacles ahead. In this case, the obstacle is precipitation in the atmosphere. The beams, directed into the atmosphere, hit precipitation and come back to the receiving end of the radar.

Next comes the calculation stage, where the system calculates the time and intensity of the return beam. Different types of weather conditions return different intensities. For instance, clear weather conditions will return a beam that is different from the returned beam you would get from stormy conditions. The weather system keeps track of all these patterns. So whenever they receive new data, they compare the patterns and come to a conclusion.

The readings are then displayed using various colors and geometric patterns. The letters H and L are used to denote high and low pressure respectively. Colors like red, orange, and yellow represent high temperatures or warm conditions. Shades of blue, on the other hand, are used for indicating low temperatures and colder conditions. Wind directions are represented using arrows pointing at various directions based on the wind direction and speed.

What Makes Them So Accurate?

The accuracy of these weather readings is maintained in various ways. Modern technology has the necessary hardware to make sure the actual data received by the radars is accurate. The data is then cleaned and unnecessary signals or noises are removed through filtering.

Filtering is usually done through machine learning. Here, the system detects additional signals or disruptions received by the radars. It then eliminates them or ignores them during the calculation process, thereby reducing the chances of false data or readings. Data that is useful is not lost in the process, thanks to the different machine learning algorithms that work on this data, The final data is then represented by the various patterns as mentioned in the earlier section.

Are They Always Right?

While weather radars are usually accurate, there are times when they can give wrong data. That is partly because of the way this piece of technology works, and partly because of external factors and obstacles.

To understand why they are not always right, you must first understand how weather radars work.

Weather radars have both transmitters and receivers. A radar first sends a microwave into the atmosphere which then listens for echoes. Afterward, it bounces back from different types of precipitation and is received by the radar’s receiver. The radar measures the amount of beam or energy that is reflected back. Based on this data, the system makes the weather forecast for that day, as well as the entire week or even month.

The problem here is that radar picks up a lot of feedback during the beam’s journey, including ground clutter, and noise from bugs, dust, bats, and other insects. This feedback hampers the accuracy of the data, which is why weather radars are not always right.

Despite their shortcomings, our weather stations heavily rely on these systems. And thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence, those handling these stations manage to remove a lot of the feedback and other shortcomings of these weather radars and systems. Hence, it is easy for common people like us to rely on these radars and trust them as well, making weather forecasts and predictions a lot simpler.