Radar technology has been around for the longest time now. It is applicable in a variety of industries and its usage spans a number of applications. One such application is in the weather. A weather radar is mostly used in the collection of data regarding the weather and its components. In this paper, we look at the advantages and disadvantages of weather radar.
Advantages
1. High quality of data:
One of the main advantages of weather radar is the fact that the data collected by the radar is of high quality and can be used to determine various aspects of the weather reliably.
2. Reliable weather forecasts:
The forecasting of the weather is one of the most important uses of weather radar. Through radar technology, experts have been able to reliably predict the weather and sometimes even measure the exact amount of rainfall or precipitation.
3. More accurate results: Using weather radar to determine the weather and even to predict the weather results in much more accurate results. Radar can easily measure the exact amount or quantity of a particular weather element and use this to determine the expected forecasts.
4. Locate precipitation: Weather radar can also be used to locate precipitation in any given area of the earth. This information comes in handy when determining the exact amount of rainfall that is expected.
5. Can calculate the speed of precipitation:
Besides locating precipitation, weather radar can also be used to calculate the exact speed of precipitation, a fete that was previously impossible using conventional means.
6. Can determine the structure of storms:
Weather radar has been used extensively by experts to determine the structure of storms. This information is then used to build the profile of expected storms and put in place mitigating measures.
7. Hail detection:
We can also use weather radar to detect hailstorms that are expected within a particular locality. This information is important in determining the exact nature of the hailstorms and helps prevent their effects.
8. Research: Weather radar also comes in handy in the field of research where experts can use it to profile the weather of a given area and use the patterns to predict the climate of that area and help people in planning.
9. Flood forecasting: Weather radar can also be used for flood forecasting to predict the occurrence of floods.
10. Weather surveillance: Weather radar helps in profiling the weather of a given area provides people with the confidence of the climate and also advises on the expected weather at a given time.
Disadvantages
1. Cannot detect fog:
Weather radar has the limitation of not being able to detect fog. This creates a gap in weather forecasting where an area that is likely to receive fog is not properly profiled.
2. Cannot detect wind independently:
A weather radar is not known to detect wind independently unless with the use of additional remote sensing. This also creates a gap in weather forecasting.
3. Not entirely reliable:
Weather radar has a variety of limitations that makes it lack some of the most important forecasting principles. This means the radar is not entirely reliable in terms of weather forecasting.
4. Requires expertise to analyze: The usage of weather radar to forecast the weather is not an easy thing and requires some level of expertise to analyze the data that comes through it.
5. Relies on intense datasets:
There is a huge dataset associated with the weather radar that needs to be analyzed before any decision is made. This data is so big that it may take a considerable amount of time to analyze fully.
6. The analysis is not instant: The weather analysis done through weather radar is not always instant and therefore the information is not real-time.
7. Weather changes all the time: The weather is a phenomenon that changes all the time. This means that any delay in data collection may sometimes result in useless data.
8. The estimates can be wrong: The estimates obtained from weather radar are not 100 percent accurate. This means that the data may be wrong in some cases and this may impact the final decision making.
9. Radar technology keeps growing: Radar technology is not static. It is dynamic and it keeps growing at a really fast pace. This means that scientists need to keep up with the technology which can be expensive and time-consuming.
10. More interference: Radar technology experiences interference from various aspects of the weather including water, wind, and so on. This may affect the quality of the data and hence the results of the analysis.
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