Private plane photograph is courtesy of Photos.com.
In-cockpit Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD)Mosaic Imagery, a product of the National Weather Service, flight information service-broadcast providers and private satellite weather service providers, displays radar images that may contain data that is 5-20 minutes old.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a statement on June 20, 2012 that the delay of weather information provided to private pilots by the NEXRAD mosaic image could prevent the pilots from accurately judging the weather conditions they may encounter.
Multiple ground radar sites are used to provide data for the NEXRAD mosaic image.
The NEXRAD image delay is caused by the time it takes to deliver the NEXRAD data from the ground to the service provider. After the service provider has access to the data, more time is lost during the process of combining radar images into the mosaic to be displayed in the cockpit.
NEXRAD image data of that is 15-20 minutes old is not considered typical, however, the NEXRAD mosaic image will always be older than the age indicated on the display.
In the press release the NTSB urges pilots to, "remember that the in-cockpit NEXRAD display depicts where the weather WAS, not where it IS."
Pilots who are relying on outdated weather images may not be prepared for rapidly changing weather they may encounter.
The most important thing pilots can do before their flight is to get a preflight weather briefing. Pilots should know what weather events are predicted along their flight path.
Once they have weather information from all available sources, pilots can make better decisions before taking off.
The focus for severe storms will move into the Ohio Valley and resume over New York state on Wednesday.
So far this year California has seen 1,569 wildfires, 85 percent more than in an average year.
The Memorial Day weekend will begin cool, windy and rainy in New England and part of the mid-Atlantic.
GOES-East failed again late Tuesday. It is one of the main satellites meteorologists use for the eastern part of the United States and the tropical Atlantic.
The tornado tore through a path 17 miles long on Monday and had wind speeds as high as 200 mph.
On the two-year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that leveled Joplin, Mo., the town has deployed assistance to Moore, Okla.
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | N/A | |
| Low | N/A | |
| Precip | N/A |
Liberal, KS (1933)
A powerful F4 tornado (winds 207-260 mph)
hidden in a dust storm devastates the business
district. 4 people were killed and 150 were
injured. Tornado estimated to be 600 yards
wide at times.
Southwestern & Central OK (1996)
Sinking air from dying thunderstorms cause
unusual late night rise in temperature. Many
places rose from upper 80s at 11:00PM to near
100 degrees by 3:00AM.
Hallam, NE (2004)
The "Hallam" tornado touched on the ground
for 2.5 miles and reached F4 status at it's
peak intensity. 95% if the town of
Hallan's buildings were damages or destroyed.
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