Weather radar oklahoma

The colors are the different echo intensities (reflectivity) measured in dBZ (decibels of Z) during each elevation scan. "Reflectivity" is the amount of transmitted power returned to the radar receiver. Reflectivity (designated by the letter Z) covers a wide range of signals (from very weak to very strong). So, a more convenient number for calculations and comparison, a decibel (or logarithmic) scale (dBZ), is used.

The dBZ values increase as the strength of the signal returned to the radar increases. Each reflectivity image you see includes one of two color scales. One scale (far left) represents dBZ values when the radar is in clear air mode (dBZ values from -28 to +28). The other scale (near left) represents dBZ values when the radar is in precipitation mode (dBZ values from 5 to 75). Notice the color on each scale remains the same in both operational modes, only the values change. The value of the dBZ depends upon the mode the radar is in at the time the image was created.

The scale of dBZ values is also related to the intensity of rainfall. Typically, light rain is occurring when the dBZ value reaches 20. The higher the dBZ, the stronger the rainrate. Depending on the type of weather occurring and the area of the U.S., forecasters use a set of rainrates which are associated to the dBZ values.

These values are estimates of the rainfall per hour, updated each volume scan, with rainfall accumulated over time. Hail is a good reflector of energy and will return very high dBZ values. Since hail can cause the rainfall estimates to be higher than what is actually occurring, steps are taken to prevent these high dBZ values from being converted to rainfall.

Nim Ccoillo Ramos is a PhD student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, advised by Dr. Jorge Salazar.  He in currently working in theoretical and applied electromagnetics, researching on mathematical modeling for antennas and microwave devices.

Recent honors and publications include:

• Honored in 2009 by hometown’s mayor as “Hijo Predilecto” (Distinguished Son), due to the outstanding performance in diverse regional and national Math contests during high school.

• Scholarship between 2016 and 2018 for M. Sc. program in Electronics Engineering from the Fund of Science and Technology of Peru.

• ARRC and ECE paper awards in 2021 from the paper entitled: “Improved Analytical Model for a Proximity Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna (PC-MSPA)”

• William H. Barkow Scholarship for the term Fall 2021 - Spring 2022 from the Gallogly College of Engineering

• N. Ccoillo-Ramos, N. Aboserwal, Z. Qamar and J. L. Salazar-Cerreno, ``Improved Analytical Model for a Proximity Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna (PC-MSPA)," in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2021.3082570.

• N. R. Ccoillo Ramos, N. Aboserwal, Z. Qamar and J. L. Salazar-Cerreno, ``Assessment of the Impedance Bandwith of a Proximity-Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna," 2020 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting, 2020, pp. 153-154, DOI:10.1109/IEEECONF35879.2020.9330497.

• N. Aboserwal, N. R. Ccoillo Ramos, Z. Qamar and J. L. Salazar-Cerreno, ``An Accurate Analytical Model to Calculate the Impedance Bandwidth of a Proximity Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna (PC-MSPA)," in IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 41784-41793, 2020, DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2976750.

"In my free time I love traveling and photography, especially landscape and celestial bodies. At home, I like watching documentaries and listening to classical music. After graduating I plan to be involved in academia as a professor and researcher in electromagnetics.

The Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Mark Gower presented Durant with a $1.6 million grant award letter at last week's City Council meeting.

The grant will cover costs to purchase and manage a new Doppler radar system, giving people in the Texoma region more lead time during severe weather events.

"The new radar system will close a coverage gap for citizens within an 85-mile radius of Durant," a news release about the presentation said. "Storm spotters have assisted heavily with filling this gap, especially during tornado warnings."

Currently, the two nearest public access Doppler radars are in the Metroplex and Oklahoma City. Officials said this creates a delay in receiving weather radar because the National Weather Service can’t see below 11,000 feet, and Durant is just outside of this range.

“Problems that come by the beam distancing from the radar sites, beam broadening and the lack of storm detail that can be determined the further you are from the radar site,” Durant Assistant City Manager James Dalton said in the release.

The Doppler radar system in Durant is expected to give an added layer of protection and some peace of mind after the 2016 and 2019 tornadoes in nearby Blue. Those storms were not detected by radar until fully formed, and the subsequent tornadoes caused fatalities in city just 10 miles east of Durant.

Oklahoma House of Representative Dustin Roberts and Senator David Bullard were instrumental in getting the State to include the grant money in the 2021 budget.

The grant will be administered by Durant’s Emergency Management department.