Advanced Doppler On Wheels Technology For The Research Provided by The National Science Foundation

Students in the meteorology program within the applied aviation sciences department at Embry-Riddle will be using some of the most sophisticated real-time weather forecasting and observational technology in the world this May during an 18-day Doppler on Wheels (DOW) summer field study class at the university’s Daytona Beach Campus.

Beginning May 4, students and instructors will gather daily for fieldwork and data analysis on the onset and location of sea breezes and learn how to forecast the thunderstorm potential in Central Florida. The Embry-Riddle-Breeze field study course will give meteorology students hands-on learning in a real-world, real-time weather forecasting and observational environment

Another important aspect of the program is to give local K-12 students and the public an up-close look at Doppler radar technology and learn how it is used in atmospheric and climate research.

The public will have a chance to see the DOW laboratory at three scheduled events:

• The NOAA Hurricane Awareness Tour Stop at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport (St. Augustine) on Thursday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• The Embry-Riddle-DOW Open House on the Tom Connolly Quad at the Daytona Beach Campus on Friday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• The Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach on Saturday, May 16, from noon to 3 p.m.

The 30-foot-long DOW radar truck is being provided by the Center for Severe Weather Research through a National Science Foundation Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities Grant. The Center for Severe Weather Research is based in Boulder, CO and operates the DOW mobile radar network, consisting of two dual-polarization, dual-frequency mobile radars and one multi-beam, rapid scan radar, several mobile mesonet vehicles and 20 quickly deployable weather stations.

DOWs have been used to study the development of tornadoes in the Great Plains and to investigate blizzards, lake-effect snow, nor’easters, hurricanes, West Coast rainfall and California wildfires. Since 2008, DOWs have also been deployed for research at a number of universities, seen by more than 100,000 students nationwide. Learn more at The Doppler on Wheels Network.

(Image provided by The National Science Foundation)

FMI: www.erau.edu