Press Releases

TDWR HIGH DEFINITION RADAR NOW AVAILABLE AT WUNDERGROUND.COM

Weather Underground enables Internet users to better predict the path of severe weather storms with Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) at http://www.wunderground.com/radar/map.asp

SAN FRANCISCO, June 1st, 2009 . Weather Underground, the nation's first online weather service, today announced that its high definition radar product now provides interactive, animated radar maps for all of the 45 major US airports where Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) has been installed by the FAA.

This high-resolution data has generally not been available to the public until now. Thanks to collaboration between the National Weather Service (NWS) and the FAA, the data for all 45 TDWRs is now available via a free satellite broadcast (NOAAPORT).

Weather Underground users will now be able to view greater detail within storms and even pick out the detailed structures of tornadoes and other important weather features. Whereas regular radar enables people to view the paths of storms neighborhood by neighborhood, the high definition TDWR provides block-by-block detail. The TDWR data can also be plotted as a layer on Weather Underground's WunderMap, the world's most interactive weather map.

For an in-depth analysis of the benefits of TDWR radar, please visit the widely read blog of Weather Underground's Director of Meteorology, Dr. Jeff Masters at:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1168

About TDWR

The Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) is an advanced technology weather radar deployed near 45 of the larger airports in the U.S. The radars were developed and deployed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) beginning in 1994, as a response to several disastrous jetliner crashes in the 1970s and 1980s caused by strong thunderstorm winds. The crashes occurred because of wind shear--a sudden change in wind speed and direction. Wind shear is common in thunderstorms, due to a downward rush of air called a microburst or downburst. The TDWRs can detect such dangerous wind shear conditions, and have been instrumental in enhancing aviation safety in the U.S. over the past 15 years. The TDWRs also measure the same quantities as our familiar network of 148 NEXRAD WSR-88D Doppler radars--precipitation intensity, winds, rainfall rate, echo tops, etc. However, the newer Terminal Doppler Weather Radars are higher resolution, and can "see" details in much finer detail close to the radar.

About Weather Underground

The nation's first online weather service, Weather Underground is committed to delivering the most comprehensive, reliable weather information possible. The company's state-of-the-art technology monitors conditions and forecasts for locations across the world. With thousands of international users contributing local observations from personal weather stations, Weather Underground is able to provide up-to-the-minute weather conditions for the most finely targeted areas. In addition to serving free online weather information to millions of Web users, Weather Underground delivers custom-designed weather page solutions to an array of businesses and media clients - both online and in print.