Data
The ARRC mobile radars have been deployed around the world to use our cutting-edge technology to collect observations of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and observations of convective and winter precipitation. This page was created to share curated datasets with the scientific community and anyone interested. The number of mobile radar data sets posted here will continue to increase in order to provide more exciting radar observations for scientific research and educational.
Other raw data can be viewed through our newly developed
RadarHub
web application. Note that some datasets are not quality controlled. In addition, there are datasets that
were collected without access by the RadarHub (e.g., RaXPol prior to 2017), which we cannot guarantee
availability. If you are interested in the raw data, please do not hesitate to contact us via
data@arrc.ou.edu
Data policy: You are welcome to use these radar data sets for research, education, and outreach activities. If you use these data sets in presentations or publications, we simply ask that you acknowledge the ARRC for providing these data and cite the manuscript(s) on the radar system and/or experimental configuration.
Data formats: The data below are in either CF/Radial (netCDF) or DORADE sweep format. These formats can be converted into other community-standard radar formats using the RadXConvert tool available with the Lidar Radar Open Software Environment (LROSE), which can be downloaded at http://lrose.net.
The 20 May 2013 Moore, Oklahoma EF-5 tornado produced $2 billion damage in the Oklahoma City area and 24 fatalities. During this high-impact event, the PX-1000 collected polarimetric data at relatively close range using 20-s, single-elevation scans. From these data, rapidly evolving processes are seen, including debris ejections, multiple vortex looping tracks and track speed changes, and a rapidly expanding tornado debris signature. The PX-1000 captured the full lifecycle of the tornado from genesis to dissipation, including the early evolution of the supercell prior to tornadogenesis. The results from our analyses are summarized in Kurdzo et al. (2015a).
- Cheong, B. L., R. Kelley, R. D. Palmer, Y. Zhang, M. Yeary, and T.-Y. Yu, 2013: PX-1000: A solid-state polarimetric X-band weather radar and time-frequency multiplexed waveform for blind range mitigation. IEEE Trans. Instrum. Measure., 62, 3064-3072. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2013.2270046
- Kurdzo, J. M, D. J. Bodine, B. L. Cheong, and R. D. Palmer, 2015: High-temporal resolution polarimetric X-band Doppler radar observations of the 20 May 2013 Moore, Oklahoma, tornado. Mon. Wea. Rev., 143, 2711-2735. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00357.1
The Atmospheric Imaging Radar (AIR; Isom et al. 2013, Kurdzo et al. 2017) uses digital beamforming to collect observations over a large vertical depth simultaneously, providing a unique vertical view of rapidly evolving processes. The AIR observed the 31 May 2013 EF-3 El Reno tornado (largest tornado on record) and parent supercell. AIR observations were collected at ~20 to 30 km, providing an unprecedented view of the deep vertical structure of the supercell.
- Isom, B., and Coauthors, 2013: The atmospheric imaging radar: Simultaneous volumetric observations using a phased array weather radar. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 30, 655-675. https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00063.1
- Kurdzo, J. M, and Coauthors, 2017: Observations of severe local storms and tornadoes with the Atmospheric Imaging Radar. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98, 915-935. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00266.1
The PX-1000 participated in the NSF-sponsored Plains Elevated Convection At Night (PECAN) field campaign in 2015. PX-1000 was deployed within a multi-Doppler configuration of several mobile Doppler radars to study mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), convective initiation, low-level jets, and bores. PX-1000 data were collected from 22 June 2015 to 14 July 2015. The sample CF/Radial data set provided here from PECAN is from 25 June 2015, which contains polarimetric observations from an MCS in southeast Iowa. The data set includes observations of an intense rear-inflow jet and severe winds occurring near PX-1000.
The full repository of PECAN data from PX-1000 is hosted on the NCAR/EOL data server:
https://data.eol.ucar.edu/dataset/485.068
- Cheong, B. L., R. Kelley, R. D. Palmer, Y. Zhang, M. Yeary, and T.-Y. Yu, 2013: PX-1000: A solid-state polarimetric X-band weather radar and time-frequency multiplexed waveform for blind range mitigation. IEEE Trans. Instrum. Measure., 62, 3064-3072. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2013.2270046
OU operated a C-band, 0.5ยบ-beamwidth polarimetric radar called OU-PRIME, which collected a unique dataset with four strong and violent tornadoes on 10 May 2010. Observations and analyses of the polarimetric evolution of these tornadic storms was published in a BAMS article, including the evolution of the tornado debris signatures and differential reflectivity (Zdr) arc.
- Palmer, R. D., and Coauthors, 2011: The 10 May 2010 tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma: Potential for new science with high-resolution polarimetric radar. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 92, 871-891. https://doi.org/10.1175/2011BAMS3125.1
Other Datasets of Interest
Data Readers and Tools
These archived data sets are provided in community standard formats CF/Radial and/or DORADE sweep formats. The scientific community has several tools available for reading these file types and analyzing radar data, including:- The Python ARM Radar Toolkit (Py-ART): https://arm-doe.github.io/pyart
- Lidar Radar Open Software Environment (LROSE): http://lrose.net