Doppler radar is a crown jewel of modern science that helps meteorologists save countless lives every year—and it’s a complex technology we take for granted.

Doppler radar is “a remote sensing tool, which basically means it senses things in the atmosphere,” said Sara Purdue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. Here’s ...

The National Weather Service's 148 WSR-88D Doppler radars can detect most precipitation within approximately 90 mi of the radar, and intense rain or snow within approximately 155 mi.

Doppler radar is “a remote sensing tool, which basically means it senses things in the atmosphere,” said Sara Purdue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

A tool designed for war became a tool designed to save lives. Doppler radar is a crown jewel of modern science that helps meteorologists save countless lives every year—and it’s a complex technology ...

Doppler radar is one of the most powerful tools in modern weather forecasting. It helps meteorologists track precipitation, estimate its intensity, and even detect wind patterns inside storms ...

Canada’s radar network is 32 sites strong Meteorologists in the U.S. developed the first widespread weather radar network in the late 1950s.

Most weather radars in the U.S. are part of the NEXRAD (Next-Generation Radar) network, which was rolled out in the 1990s and revolutionized severe weather detection.