With the Omaha WSR-88D radar completing their dual-pol installation yesterday, Iowa is now completely covered by dual-polarization capabilities. Nearly all of the nation is complete – there are about 6-7 in-county radars that remain. Once this is complete, 8 air force base radars will see their long-awaited level II (super-resolution capabilities). After nearly 3-5 years worth of installations, the country will finally be covered by the most modern weather radar available. We likely will not see anymore upgrades, unfortunately, for at least 15-20 years with the lack of funding available.

What will dual-polarization do?
Via NWS Wilmington, Ohio

Current NWS radars provide information on precipitation intensity and movement. Dual-polarization technology adds the ability to sense the size and shape of objects in the atmosphere. This will enable meteorologists to make numerous advances in forecasting and warning capabilities:

• Improved accuracy in identifying precipitation types. This will lead to more accurate winter weather forecasts, especially during times of mixed and icy precipitation.
• Improved precipitation estimates. This will lead to more accurate river forecasts and flash flood warnings.
• Improved detection of non-precipitation targets. This will allow forecasters to focus on real precipitation radar targets.
• Improved hail detection. The new radar products will lead to increased confidence in the presence and size of hail in strong to severe thunderstorms.
• The ability to detect lofted tornado debris. Although this will not directly lead to improvements in tornado warnings, it will provide higher confidence of a tornado’s presence and track when significant damage is occurring. This could be especially benefical at night, when tornadoes are difficult to see. A caveat though; tornadoes will need to be close to the radar to sample the lofted debris, or a far tornado will need to be strong to be able to lift debris to the altitude that the radar will be sampling it.