University of Oklahoma and Enterprise Electronics Corporation Unveil Next-Generation Weather Radar
EEC helps OU cut the ribbon on the world’s most precise weather radar—OU PRIME
Norman, OK, April 4th, 2009— The sun was shining bright and not a cloud could be seen for miles as a large group of meteorologists, students, and other personnel associated with the National Weather Center gathered together on the OU campus this Saturday. The blue sky was somewhat ironic when you consider the reason for the get together was to unveil a one-of-a-kind weather radar system designed to perform at its best when the weather is at its worst. Members of the EEC staff and OU faculty cut the ribbon on the weather radar system that is truly unique. "We're actually the first location in the United States," said John Snow of the OU School of Meteorology. "No research center, academic program or other organization has this type of radar that has this precision."
The new dual polarization radar called OU PRIME is more advanced as compared to traditional radars. Older radars emit a horizontal pulse of energy that allows scientists to measure how heavy rainfall is and how strong the winds are. The new radar technology emits energy in both the horizontal and vertical, opening up a world of opportunity to improve our knowledge of severe weather. "With conventional radar, you know that the raindrops and snowflakes are there," said Snow. "(The new radar) tells you the size of the raindrops, the size of the snowflakes and gives you information about the shape, whether they are flat or round."
The modern design of OU Prime takes advantage of technologies exclusively developed by EEC for dual polarization radars. “No other radar manufacturer in the world can come close to this level of performance, it is truly the first of its kind,” said Michael Knight, EEC’s Vice President of Engineering.
While the official unveiling of the radar was this weekend, the radar system has been collecting data over the past several weeks from some of central Oklahoma’s early spring storms. One of world’s leading weather radar research scientists, Dr. Alexander Ryzhkov, has been analyzing the data and noted impressive results. “I believe it’s the best radar in world. I have experience working with many types of radars, the quality of this radar data is beyond my expectations,” said Ryzhkov.
Those high expectations are shared by EEC’s President, Allyson Turnbull. “We’re pleased with the high level of performance from this radar and together with OU we expect to fuel future innovations of dual polarization technology.”
What does all of this technology ultimately mean for the general public? "Better rainfall estimates, better understanding where hail is going to form, better understanding of icing events in the winter time," said Snow
