There are currently four WSR-88D radars operating in Alabama which are used in detecting and tracking dangerous storms, as they move across Alabama and West Central Georgia. These include:
| As part of the modernization of the National Weather Service (NWS), the NWS has
been replacing its aging network radars, the Weather Surveillance
Radar 1957 (WSR-57) and WSR-74, with the Weather Surveillance Radar 1988 Doppler or
WSR-88D. This is also known as the
NEXt generation RADar or NEXRAD.
Unlike its predecessors, the WSR-88D is equipped with computers to generate
images and analysis that were not available with the older radar systems. The WSR-88D
has a number of advantages over the old system. It is more powerful than older radars, has
better resolution, and improved clutter suppression, and it performs volume scanning of the
atmosphere to paint a 3 dimensional picture of storms. Some of the computer generated images
include, storm tracking information, Doppler velocity images, and rainfall accumulation
estimates, to name a few. Additional information can be found at the bottom of this page.
Note: Picture to the left shows the KBMX radar tower and dome.
There are currently four WSR-88D radars operating in Alabama which are used in detecting and tracking dangerous storms, as they move across Alabama and West Central Georgia. These include: | |
Identifier | Location |
| KBMX | Shelby County radar located just south of Alabaster near the Shelby county airport. |
| KMXX | Department of Defense radar just east of Montgomery |
| KMOB | NWS in Mobile, AL located at the NWS office at the Mobile county airport |
| KEOX | Department of Defense radar at Fort Rucker near Ozark in southeast Alabama |
| KHTX | Hytop in northeast Alabama. |
Other radars used in watching storms in Alabama and West Central Georgia include:
Identifier | Location |
| KGWX | Department of Defense radar near Columbus Mississippi |
| KJAN | NWS in Jackson, Mississippi |
| KEVX | Department of Defense radar at Eglin Airforce base Florida |
| KOHX | NWS in Nashville, TN |
| KFFC | NWS in Peachtree City radar south of Atlanta Georgia |
| Click here for a graphic (size=46 kb) showing the radar coverage across north and central Alabama out to a range or 125 nautical miles. This graphic does not include the several local radars operated by local television and radio stations. |
WSR-88D information links
There are many WWW sites with information about the WSR-88D. So instead of reinventing the wheel here are some
educational and general information links:
Last modified 10/15/1998 by Ron Murphy
