It’s kind of like the tornado chasing vehicle from the movie “Twister” but it’s a lot more high-tech. The Rapid-Scan Doppler-on-Wheels is operated by National Science Foundation and the Center for Severe Weather Research.
The storm-chaser was in Galveston this week so Texas A&M students could get some hands-on experience. But Saturday the public can check it out. Dan Reilly with the National Weather Service talks about what visitors will see:
“They’re going to see the actual instrument packages,” explains Reilly. “They’re going to see the radar. This is a new version of this doppler-on-wheels so there’s really cutting-edge technology.”
Reilly says the Doppler-on-Wheels allows forecasters to move close to weather systems so they can see what’s happening with a high level of detail.
“We have our own Weather Service radar and we can see a lot with that,” adds Reilly. “But with this research radar you can get down to the very fine scale, see things going on on the scale of tens of meters rather than miles.”
Weather enthusiasts can see the Doppler-on-Wheels from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Saturday. It’ll be at the National Weather Service offices on FM 646 in Dickinson.