Pilot's Guide

Garmin G1000 Pilot’s Guide for the Tiger AG-5B190-00617-00 Rev. A
9-11
GDL 69/69A
NOTE: WSR-88D weather surveillance radar
or NEXRAD (NEXt generation RADar) is a Dop-
pler radar system that has greatly improved
the detection of meteorological events such
as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
An extensive network of NEXRAD stations
provides almost complete radar coverage of the
continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.
The unobstructed range of each NEXRAD is 124
nautical miles.
NEXRAD Abnormalities
There are possible abnormalities regarding displayed
NEXRAD images. Some, but not all, of those include:
• Ground Clutter
• Strobes and spurious radar data
• Sun strobes, when the radar antenna points directly
at the sun
• Interference from buildings or mountains, which
may cause shadows
• Military aircraft deploy metallic dust which can
cause alterations in radar scans
NEXRAD Limitations
Certain limitations exist regarding the NEXRAD radar
displays. Some, but not all, are listed here for the user’s
awareness:
• NEXRAD base reflectivity does not provide sufficient
information to determine cloud layers or precipita
-
tion characteristics (hail vs. rain, etc).
• NEXRAD base reflectivity is sampled at the minimum
antenna elevation angle. An individual NEXRAD site
cannot depict high altitude storms at close ranges,
and has no information about storms directly over
the site.
Figure 9-8 Weather Data Link Page
Opt Equipment_00617-00_0A.indd 11 7/12/2005 8:21:44 AM