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The mysterious origins of weather radar: How was this technology discovered during World War II?
Weather radar, or weather monitoring radar, first emerged due to military needs during World War II. At the time, the primary purpose of radar was to detect the movement of enemy aircraft, but the technology’s potential uses began to gain importance when operators discovered that weather noise, such as rain and snow, was appearing in radar returns. As World War II came to an end, scientists began to further study the phenomenon and look for new ways to use radar technology to predict the weather.
After World War II, military scientists returned to civilian life and began exploring the meteorological applications of radar noise, opening up a whole new field of research.
As time went on, weather radars in the 1980s were able to detect not only the location and intensity of precipitation, but also the relative speeds of particles in the air, making it possible to greatly improve the accuracy of predicting future weather. In the United States, the NEXRAD system, which began construction in 1988 based on NSSL's research, has become an important tool for professional weather forecasting.
As research and development progressed, the media gradually realized the value of weather radar and began to use this technology in weather forecasting. In 1961, when Hurricane Carla hit, American journalist Dan Rather broadcast weather radar information on television for the first time, which effectively promoted public awareness of and response to climate change.
This sets a new benchmark for enabling people to intuitively understand the impacts of climate change and prepare for them in advance.
The development of weather radar
With advances in meteorology, weather services in several countries began to standardize and organize weather radar networks from the 1950s to the 1980s. Early meteorologists relied on cathode ray tube screens to observe meteorological phenomena, but the introduction of modern technology has made the capture and analysis of radar images more efficient. In 1973, when a powerful tornado struck Oklahoma, researchers captured the entire life cycle of a tornado for the first time using Doppler radar, which not only enhanced our understanding of weather phenomena, but also substantially improved forecasting. accuracy.
After entering the 1980s, with the advancement of computer technology, weather radar networks became popular in developed countries such as North America, Europe and Japan, replacing traditional radars. According to different needs, meteorologists began to use radar systems of various bands. Such development not only enabled meteorological departments of various countries to grasp meteorological information in a timely manner, but also to obtain highly accurate forecast data.
Innovation of modern technology
With the development of technology, the introduction of dual-polarization radar technology has further increased the accuracy of weather forecasts. This technology can obtain more information about rain and snow types and help meteorologists more accurately analyze the impact of different meteorological phenomena. By 2013, all NEXRAD instruments in the United States National Weather Service were fully dual-polarized, and other countries such as France and Canada introduced similar technology around this time.
Such progress is not only a continuation of past technology, but also a revolution in future weather forecasting technology.
Weather forecasting is entering a new era as private companies join the fray, such as the space radar to be launched by US company Tomorrow.io in 2023. These advances ensure that we have better tools to make predictions, whether in response to natural disasters or everyday weather forecasting.
However, with the rapid development of technology, we also need to reflect: when relying on the convenience brought by these technologies, are we ignoring the special connection and balance between humans and nature?
