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Predicting radar outcomes from the met.ie maps

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  • 07-04-2013 4:31pm
    #1
    amandstu
    Registered Users Posts: 3,659 ✭✭✭


    It is a bit frustrating since , when you look at the 15 minutely weather charts on met.ie it is not easy to judge whether the rain is actually going to arrive as it can seem to peter out (or change direction) for no obvious (to me) reason.

    Are there any tips as to gauging how soon a rain system (or a clearance I suppose) will actually arrive at a particular spot -and whether it is likely to miss ?

    What do the F1 crowd do since it is so important to them and they ,presumably , must use every trick in the book (I can't afford hiring spotter helicopters myself)?

    I have tried ,of course, using knowledge of the local topology but it hasn't really been of much use.

    And I haven't been able to notice obvious patterns either in the way the radar maps develop.

    Of course ,a lot of the time is is just curiosity -if a big storm is on its way then it is relatively unimportant if it comes in 10 minutes or an hour or 2 later.

    But I get a bit tired of announcing to people that rain or a clearance is coming based on the radar and getting it wrong!


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    #2
    Iancar29
    Registered Users Posts: 5,068 ✭✭✭Iancar29


    1. You can get 5 min scan radar . I use a paid subscription service for it by NW , think its well worth it for any weather/storm enthusiast.

    2. Practice , look for signals , shape and size can help predict whats happening visually.
    A cell the has a very solid shape to it is always a good thing.

    3. What has already passed through the area? , a cell that may look interesting may be inhibited by a much weaker shower that may have passed through just previously.Surface heating gets reset and the next cell may start to lose intensity due to this.

    4. Radar accuracy ... cells that would be over 50km away from the radar site start to lose there rebound accuracy. A cell that may have an echo of say 40dz may actually return at 50dz or even low at just 30dz , this does lead to many surprises for people who , like me live near a radar site ( D. A ) and tend to see this happen alot on days where cells are flying W- E across the country and may appear to suddenly get stronger at say , Mullingar , or even may look weaker that reports from the area suggest.

    5.... Practice

    Enjoy :)


    RADAR .... range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects . :)


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