Retrieval and Quantitative Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Winds in Severe Convection with Multistatic Radar Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

Multistatic weather radar systems have the potential to provide three-dimensional wind information from both operational and research radars, given that each radar provides a distinct Doppler velocity measurement. A prototype multistatic network consisting of two passive receivers and the nearby operational KTLX Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) has been deployed in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. To achieve sufficiently precise Doppler frequency estimates while reducing system cost, transmitter/receiver synchronization is accomplished through direct-path measurements of the WSR-88D’s sidelobe radiation. Several cases of observed severe convection are presented, including instances of quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs) and supercells. Multi-Doppler retrievals performed with the multistatic data are shown to resolve important structures in the three-dimensional wind fields, including mesocyclones. Quantitative analysis and evaluation of the retrievals are performed by comparison with simultaneous multi-Doppler retrievals done with monostatic radar data only, along with direct numerical comparison to independent radial velocity measurements. For the case analyzed under this framework, the multistatic system yields a mean error of −1.3 m s−1, compared to −2.8 m s−1 for the monostatic system. In addition, retrieved vertical velocities from the multistatic system are compared to a locally deployed vertically pointing radar providing additional system validation and error quantification for the vertical velocity field, where the multistatic system provides a stark improvement in retrieved vertical velocity over the monostatic system. This relatively low-cost technology has the potential to significantly expand the observing capabilities of the operational WSR-88D radar network. Grant no. NA23OAR4590399