.
Scattering of a Radar Pulse
by a target back to the receiver

The magnitude of the reflectivity is related to the number and size of the drops encountered by the electromagnetic pulse. For this reason, high reflectivity generally implies heavy precipitation while low reflectivity implies lighter precipitation. Plots of the radar reflectivity, typically using colors to depict its magnitude, show both the location and intensity of precipitation. Extremely high reflectivities often indicate hail.


Terms for using data resources. CD-ROM available.
Credits and Acknowledgments for WW2010.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.