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Doppler Radar enhances capabilities

  • Published
  • By by Tech. Sgt. Christina M. Styer
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The one thing everyone can count on about the weather in the deployed environment is that it is completely unpredictable. But to one unit, the weather is never a surprise.

Due to Doppler radar technology the men and women of the 380th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather flight are never caught off guard by the ever-changing climate.

"In the summertime a thunderstorm can blow up in 10-to-15 minutes," said Capt. Brian DeCicco, 380 EOSS weather flight commander, deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. "Before, all we had to detect the weather was satellite and the refresh rate was only about every 30 minutes, the Doppler gives us data updates every five minutes."

How does the Doppler Radar do this, one might ask?

"Every 20 seconds it rotates, does one full scan, and it does 16 different degree levels, so it'll tilt up a little higher each time," DeCicco explained. "So in five minutes you have a three-dimensional idea of your storm as it's developing."

Weather forecasters are able to see when strong rain bands are coming in and give an estimation on how fast a storm is moving and how long it will last at a given location.

This information is then used to advise pilots so they can carry on with the air tasking order by exploiting small gaps in the weather when it is safe for them to fly.

Aircraft are most vulnerable during landing and take-off, according to DeCicco, and the accuracy of the Doppler to detect clouds, precipitation, thunderstorms, hail and other types of weather gives weather flight personnel valuable lead time to prepare pilots who may be trying to take-off or land aircraft, along with maintainers who are working on the flightline.

"The radar allows us to dig into the storm itself and determine how high and how strong the reverse echoes from the storm are to determine if hail is a possibility," explained Senior Master Sgt. Ronald Bradford, 380 EOSS weather flight NCO in charge, deployed from McGuire AFB, N.J.

Without this lead time, DeCicco says the Wing's ability to accomplish the air tasking order could be cut in half.

In order to ensure the Doppler is able to provide the most accurate information possible weather flight personnel perform preventative maintenance daily and monthly to ensure it is properly cleaned and operational at all times.

"Out here the big thing is dust," said DeCicco. "We've got a lot of dust floating around and it can jam up all the parts, causing the radar to malfunction. It is a million dollar piece of equipment so not maintaining it could cause its lifespan to only be a year, as opposed to five or ten years."

Keeping the Doppler Radar clean and operational ensures the operational weather flight is able to make a vital impact to the mission.

"Every day something's different when you come into the office, every day you have different kinds of weather, different missions and there is always something changing," explained DeCicco. "It's always exciting."