The UMass X-Pol Mobile Doppler Radar: Description, Recent Observations, and New System Developments

Accurate detection and forecasting of severe storms has driven radar tornado probing as an important research topic that has added significantly to the understanding and prediction of severe weather phenomena. The need for close range observation, coupled with the fact that significant information is buried at low altitudes, has made mobile Doppler radars an important tool in the characterization of severe storms and related weather phenomena. The UMass XPol radar is one such truck mounted dual-polarized Doppler radar operating at 9.41 GHz. This paper documents the existing mobile radar system and presents close range, high resolution observations of Doppler velocity, reflectivity, differential reflectivity and cross-polarization correlation coefficient of a variety of storms observed during 2007. Additionally, the architecture of a planned pulse compression system upgrade is described.