Principles of High-Resolution Radar Network for Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Management in an Urban Environment

The center for the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) Urban Demonstration Network consists of a high-resolution X-band radar network and a National Weather Service S-band radar system (i.e., KFWS radar). On the basis of these radars, CASA has developed an end-to-end warning system that includes sensors, software architecture, products, data dissemination and visualization, and user decision-making modules. This paper presents a technical summary of the DFW radar network for urban weather disaster detection and mitigation from the perspective of the tracking and warning of hails, tornadoes, and floods. Particularly, an overview of the design trade-offs of the X-band radar network is presented. The architecture and associated algorithms for various product systems are described, including the real-time hail detection system, the multiple Doppler vector wind retrieval system, and the high-resolution quantitative precipitation estimation system. Sample products in the presence of high wind, tornado, hail, and flash flood are provided, and the system performance is demonstrated by cross-validation with ground observations and weather reports.