{"id":6718,"date":"2025-04-03T10:32:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T15:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/?p=6718"},"modified":"2025-04-25T13:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:49:15","slug":"experimental-phased-array-radar-captures-wildfire-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/2025\/04\/experimental-phased-array-radar-captures-wildfire-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental Phased Array Radar captures wildfire data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
NOAA\u2019s JPSS satellites (NOAA-20, NOAA-21, and NOAA\/NASA Suomi-NPP, ) collected imagery of a dust storm sweeping across the southern Plains as numerous wildfires popped up across Texas and Oklahoma on March 14, 2025. This imagery shows the heat signatures and smoke plumes from these fires, along with dust blowing from the west. (Credit NOAA, NESDIS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For more than 60 years, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) has been at the forefront of developing weather radar. Currently NSSL is working on Phased Array Radar (PAR) as the next generation of weather radar technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAR<\/a> is designed to provide faster, more detailed, and more adaptive observations of severe weather. Unlike traditional radar systems that scan the atmosphere mechanically by rotating, PAR uses electronic beam steering to rapidly collect data, allowing for updates in seconds rather than minutes. This rapid update capability enhances forecasters\u2019 ability to monitor evolving storms, track tornado development, and improve severe weather warnings, ultimately leading to greater public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond its role in severe thunderstorm and tornado detection, radar is also a critical tool in fire weather monitoring. Wildfires pose significant threats to life and property, and weather conditions\u2014such as strong winds, dry air, rapid changes in wind directions\u2014can rapidly change fire behavior. Forecasters use radar to detect these environmental factors, providing real-time insights into fire-induced plumes, smoke movement, and wind shifts that can exacerbate wildfire conditions. The ability of PAR to scan the atmosphere more frequently and in finer detail makes it an invaluable asset in tracking the meteorological conditions that drive wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Data collected by NSSL’s Advanced Technology Demonstrator during the March 14, 2025 dust strom in Oklahoma. Detailed radar signatures of fire-generated smoke plumes are visible as colorful diagonal lines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the key tools in NSSL\u2019s development of PAR is the Advanced Technology Demonstrator (ATD)<\/a>, an experimental radar system designed to test and refine phased array\u2019s capabilities. On March 14, 2025, the ATD observed multiple wildfires across Oklahoma during an historic, high-impact wind, dust, and fire event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That day, extreme winds and dry conditions led to quick starting and rapidly spreading wildfires, along with widespread blowing dust that reduced visibility. The ATD captured detailed radar signatures of the fire-generated smoke plumes, tracking how they interacted with the strong winds and turbulent atmosphere. These observations provide valuable data to researchers on PAR\u2019s capabilities to improve wildfire detection and forecasting methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As wildfire threats continue to increase across the United States, NSSL remains committed to developing cutting-edge radar systems to enhance forecasting, protect communities, and advance our understanding of severe weather and fire weather events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than 60 years, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) has been at the forefront of developing weather radar. Currently NSSL is working on Phased Array Radar (PAR) as the next generation of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":6721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11,12],"tags":[622,695,182,381,400],"class_list":["post-6718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-radar","category-research-news","tag-featured","tag-fire","tag-hot-items","tag-phased-array-radar","tag-radar"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6718"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6725,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6718\/revisions\/6725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.nssl.noaa.gov\/nsslnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}