New WSR-88D Volume Coverage Pattern 12: Results of field tests

For the first time since the installation of the national network of Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D), a new scanning strategy-Volume Coverage Pattern 12 (VCP 12)-has been added to the suite of scanning strategies. VCP 12 is a faster version of VCP 11 and has denser vertical sampling at lower elevation angles. This note discusses results of field tests in Oklahoma and Mississippi during 2001-03 that led to the decision to implement VCP 12. Output from meteorological algorithms for a test-bed radar using an experimental VCP were compared with output for a nearby operational WSR-88D using VCP 11 or 21. These comparisons were made for severe storms that were at comparable distances from both radars. Findings indicate that denser vertical sampling at lower elevation angles leads to earlier and longer algorithm identifications of storm cells and mesocyclones, especially those more distant from a radar.