Weather radar utility in hazard detection and response.

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric Science
• Remote Sensing
• Data Analysis

Background:

• Publicly accessible weather radar systems offer advanced meteorological capabilities.
• These systems also have the potential to detect non-meteorological phenomena such as smoke, ash, debris plumes, and explosions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of weather radar data for identifying and tracking non-meteorological events.
• To explore the application of this data for emergency response, hazard mitigation, and military awareness.

Main Methods:

• Manual inspection of Level 2 weather radar data from multiple US locations.
• Identification of anthropogenic and non-biological returns, including explosive events.
• Tracking of a large high-altitude debris cloud from the SpaceX Starship event.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated ability of weather radar to detect and track non-meteorological events.
• Successful identification of explosive events and a significant debris cloud.
• Validation of radar data's potential for non-meteorological event monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Weather radar data is a valuable tool for identifying and tracking non-meteorological events.
• This technology can significantly aid interagency emergency response, military awareness, and forensic investigations.
• Future development using machine learning can enable near-real-time event identification.