Doppler Radar - Hurricane Katrina

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tae/?n=climate_2005review

Doppler radar is a key component of weather forecasting.  This method of gathering storm data utilizes pulses of energy in the microwave wavelength and can give us a 3-D view of storm structure through scanning the atmosphere at different elevation angles.  It is through doppler radar that we are able to follow the evolution of severe weather events and warn areas that may be affected.

Above is a doppler radar image of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.  This image shows composite reflectivity and is a combination of different radar stations data to get a complete image of the storm.  This image is also at the time when Hurricane Katrina was the closest to the city of New Orleans.  We can see that there are higher dBZ values (yellows and reds) around the center of the storm rather than around the periphery.