Usefulness of Radar During Severe Weather Coverage

In my opinion, we’ve come to a crucial fork in the road that is severe weather coverage. What is the place of radar images during severe weather? Should radar images stay behind a computer screen only seen by the meteorologist on air, or should it be displayed for the public to see? Honestly, I’m on the fence about this one.

Let’s face it, there are pros and cons of both. So, I’m going to break down my thoughts for you.

Pros: 1. It gives the viewer a better idea of where the storm really is in relation to their current location. With radar imagery, the viewer can better estimate how much time they have to take cover, which is always a pro.

2. It gives the meteorologist a chance to educate. Terms like “Debris Ball”, “Hail Core”, and “Rotation” should be known by the public. Displaying products such as radar base reflectivity and velocity will help with this; but only if the meteorologist will take the time to explain what is happening.

Now, let’s look at the cons.

Cons: 1. People don’t know what the crap some of it means. This brings us to the number 2 pro: we can display all these fancy radar products, but we must explain what the viewer is looking at. I’ll give you an example: I showed a friend of mine the radar image below and asked, “What do you see in this?” They replied with, “I don’t know.” Whereas, any meteorologist or weather enthusiast sees very strong rotation and a likely debris ball.

2. We can confuse the public with the use of radar imagery. Take the above image for example, rapid rotation is noted just to the southeast of Joplin, MO. If someone takes this image and associates it with a tornado, they may see a much weaker area of rotation and think nothing will happen.

3. People call in complaining about severe weather coverage because it is more boring than their coveted show or game.

So how do we go about fixing this problem? I think it is already getting fixed. Some news stations are doing severe weather coverage very right. How? They’re showing videos and pictures of the severe weather as it happens.

Can you still show radar? Yes! I encourage it, but only if it is simple base reflectivity and maybe velocity. However, live severe weather video is where it’s at. Why? It allows the viewer to literally visualize the storm that is moving their way. I’ll leave you with a couple of examples: Which do you feel will hold the viewers attention better?