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Base Ref 50nm Elev=0 deg 0.7 km²/pixel LKC: Lake Charles LA 31.15N 92.95W 05/07/65 01:34 UTC Attenuation = 0 dBZ lin |
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WSR-57 detection of bird targets
The earliest radars detected masses of migrating birds, dubbed "angels". The first national network of weather radars (WSR-57) was able to detect birds and insects in the atmosphere. The WSR-57 could only display one reflectivity at a time, so meterologists interested in weather would change the signal strength to detect only large precipitation events. Detecting birds on this radar was a matter of attenuating the signal to detect less dense targets. However, in nights of heavy migration the numbers of birds in the radar scan could white out the display. Also, the WSR-57 was not a doppler radar, so the speed of the targets compared with the winds was not known.
| WSR-57 scan showing the initiation of Spring Exodus | ||
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It is interesting that we can see "hotspot" features in these exodus scans consistently between WSR-57 and WSR-88. Notice the forked structure east of the station in the NEXRAD reflectivity below and compare it with the WSR-57 scan above.
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