DesertWeather Radar:

Typically radar is active only during weather events. Images may be out of date, please note time stamp.

Radar image not available at this time.

 

Composite Reflectivity / Composite Reflectivity 248nm
This display is of maximum echo intensity (reflectivity) from any elevation angle at every range from the radar. This product is used to reveal the highest reflectivity in all echoes. Basically, if you were standing 30 miles east of the radar, and above you, the radar sampled dBZ values of 5, 25, 30, 34, 52, 40, 37, and 22 at different heights...the image would display 52 dBZ for your location. Used to show the most intense storms and hail cores aloft. Used by radar operators as more of a "catch all" as it is the last product received per volume scan (one complete radar sweep of the atmosphere). Composite Reflectivity can reveal important storm structure features and intensity trends of storms. This image is also accompanied for the Storm Cell Attributes Table. Composite Reflectivity 248nm is a long range version which extends out to 248 nm (about 286 miles). Learn more about composite reflectivity.
Echo Tops
Simply image depicting the estimate of storm cloud tops. Note that depending on the tilt of the radar beam and distance from the radar, these can be severely over or under-estimated on the order of 5-10,000 feet or more.
VIL - Vertically Integrated Liquid
A coarse resolution image that is basically a measure of the total liquid in a vertical column, in units kilograms per square meter. Most used to identify storms with heavy rainfall or large hail. Can also be used in combination with other products to predict the onset of wind damage.
Storm Total Rainfall / One Hour Rainfall
A great benefit of Doppler radar is its ability to estimate fallen precipitation, in order to fill in the holes left by observation networks, automated rain gages, and other sources of data. Measured in inches, Doppler Radar can estimate precipitation that has fallen over the past hour, three hours, and storm total. Note the beginning and ending times on the storm total imagery. The radar requires several hours of no precipitation before resetting, and areas that receive a lot of rainfall can have this image piling up for days if not weeks! Also note that precipitation can be severely overestimated due to storms which contain hail and the freezing level, as partially melted ice returns an extremely high reflectivity