Now that ARM’s new X-band scanning precipitation radars are up and running at the Southern Great Plains site, it’s time to share some goodies from all that great data. Scott Collis, ARM’s data translator for the precipitation radars, pulled together a few movies that capture a shallow wintertime cloud deck in 3D.

The first video is a “fly-through” of the clouds showing both the top and bottom cloud boundaries. Blue colors on the clouds denote motion toward the radar, while red denotes motion away. Keen cloud enthusiasts will note a difference between the colors on the cloud tops and bases – an indication of wind shear in this shallow cloud layer.

The second video shows one of the “slices” as the radar scans through the cloud. You can see the precipitation within the cloud and reflectivity (a measure of liquid content) at the boundaries.

Due to the dense scanning pattern and sensitivity of the new radars, weak cloud systems like these show up quite clearly. These videos are the first of several evaluation tools being developed to assist scientists in verifying cloud and climate models.

Pretty cool, huh?