Weather Radar
Weather Radar is a core knowledge area on the Aviation Weather FAA written exam. This hub collects our 6 in-depth, ACS-aligned weather radar articles — each written in plain English and grounded in the official FAA handbooks. Work through them below, then drill the topic with practice questions.
How Weather Radar Works: Reflectivity, Backscatter, and the Radar Equation
Weather radar detects precipitation by sending pulses of energy and measuring the backscattered return; understanding reflectivity, attenuation, resolution, and beam propagation is essential for correctly interpreting both ground-based WSR-88D and airborne radar displays.
NEXRAD Reflectivity and the dBZ Scale for Precipitation Intensity
NEXRAD's WSR-88D uses backscattered energy and the dBZ scale to measure precipitation intensity, but attenuation, beam geometry, and propagation anomalies can fool pilots into misreading what they see.
Radar Beam Geometry: Overshooting, Undershooting, and Beam Blockage
Radar beam geometry—overshooting, undershooting, and beam blockage—explains why weather radar sometimes misses or misrepresents precipitation, a critical concept for safe flight planning using WSR-88D and airborne radar products.
Radar Artifacts: Ground Clutter, Anomalous Propagation, and the Bright Band
Radar artifacts like ground clutter, anomalous propagation, and the bright band can fool pilots and controllers into misreading weather radar. Understanding their causes helps you correctly interpret WSR-88D and airborne radar displays.
Interpreting Radar Returns: Convective vs. Stratiform Precipitation
Learn how weather radar distinguishes convective from stratiform precipitation, how the WSR-88D and airborne radar differ in power, wavelength, and resolution, and why those differences matter for safe flight planning.
Radar Wavelengths and Attenuation: Why Heavy Rain Hides Cells
Aircraft weather radar's 3-cm wavelength causes severe precipitation attenuation, hiding dangerous cells behind heavy rain—while the NWS WSR-88D's 10-cm wavelength penetrates far more effectively. Pilots must understand these limitations to avoid catastrophic tactical errors.
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Articles are original summaries grounded in the public-domain FAA handbooks and cite their source. ACS-aligned study aids — not a substitute for the official handbooks or regulations.