{"id":15868,"date":"2026-06-13T05:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T00:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/?p=15868"},"modified":"2026-07-26T10:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:28:22","slug":"radar-and-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/radar-and-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Radar and Satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<h3>Radar and Satellite Reports<\/h3>\n<h3>Types of Weather Radar<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ground weather radars are classified according to their function.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quantitative Radars (10 cm):<\/strong> Measure the intensity and rate of precipitation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ultra-Sensitive Radars:<\/strong> Detect cloud convection and study Clear Air Turbulence (CAT), gravity waves and lee waves.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Plan Position Indicator (PPI):<\/strong> Displays weather echoes in plan view using range and bearing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Range Height Indicator (RHI):<\/strong> Displays the altitude or vertical profile of weather echoes such as Cumulonimbus (CB) cells.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Doppler Weather Radar (DWR):<\/strong> Uses the Doppler principle to detect and forecast thunderstorms, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, dust storms and sandstorms.<\/li>\n<li>Doppler radars estimate wind velocity and help predict wind shear, turbulence and Clear Air Turbulence (CAT).<\/li>\n<li>They can also detect gust fronts, micro-bursts, downbursts and tornadoes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Indian Weather Radars<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Indian Integrated Upper Air Sounding System (IIUASS)<\/strong> is an indigenous X-band weather and wind-finding multi-meteorological radar system.<\/li>\n<li>The Radiosonde network consists of:\n<ul>\n<li>14 S-band (10 cm) radars.<\/li>\n<li>25 Digital X-band (3 cm) radars.<\/li>\n<li>5 Doppler Weather Radars (DWR).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The system has a usable range of approximately <strong>200 km<\/strong> and a maximum range of <strong>400 km<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Operational weather monitoring is generally carried out between <strong>25 NM and 75 NM<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Weather Radar Echoes<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cloud Echoes:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Stratiform clouds produce diffuse echoes with a bright band caused by melting ice crystals or snowflakes.<\/li>\n<li>Convective clouds produce sharp-edged echoes. Blurred edges indicate weakening clouds.<\/li>\n<li>A line of echoes generally indicates a squall line.<\/li>\n<li>Strong echoes with high tops indicate Cumulonimbus (CB) clouds.<\/li>\n<li>Severe storms produce intense, sharply defined echoes due to large supercooled water droplets.<\/li>\n<li>Hook-shaped or appendage echoes indicate violent storms.<\/li>\n<li>A figure-six pattern, dry holes, rapid development, broad horizontal echoes and converging echoes are associated with tornadoes.<\/li>\n<li>Weak storms may appear as a bright band.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Airborne Weather Radar (AWR)<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Airborne Weather Radars are generally <strong>X-band (3 cm)<\/strong> radars designed to detect large water droplets in clouds.<\/li>\n<li>The radar scans using a conical beam covering approximately <strong>70\u00b0<\/strong> on either side of the aircraft.<\/li>\n<li>Modern radars are multimode, digital, lightweight and support:\n<ul>\n<li>Weather detection.<\/li>\n<li>Ground mapping.<\/li>\n<li>Transponder operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Colour Codes in Airborne Weather Radar<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Red:<\/strong> Heavy precipitation, thunderstorms, hail, strong winds, tornadoes, severe turbulence and rainfall greater than <strong>12 mm\/hr<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yellow:<\/strong> Moderate precipitation, reduced visibility, moderate turbulence and rainfall between <strong>4\u201312 mm\/hr<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Green:<\/strong> Light precipitation, slight turbulence, reduced visibility and rainfall between <strong>1\u20134 mm\/hr<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Example of Radar Report (RAREP)<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<pre><code>IDENTIFIER              RAREP\nSTATION INDEX NUMBER    12345\nDATE &amp; TIME (UTC)       15030\nAZIMUTH\/RANGE (KM)      270\/050 300\/060 350\/025\nECHO CHARACTER          SQL LN\nINTENSITY TREND         INCG\nALTITUDE                ALTD\nDIRECTION\/RANGE\/ALT     270\/09\/050\nBRIGHT BAND             280\/30\nANOMALOUS PROPAGATION   AP 300\/330\/150\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<h3>Types of Meteorological Satellites<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Polar-Orbiting Satellites:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Orbit between <strong>650 km and 1000 km<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Cover the Earth twice every 24 hours.<\/li>\n<li>Pass over the same location approximately every <strong>12 hours<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Example: <strong>NOAA (K, L, M Series)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geostationary Satellites:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Orbit at approximately <strong>36,000 km<\/strong> above the Equator.<\/li>\n<li>Remain over the same geographical position because their orbital period matches Earth&#8217;s rotation.<\/li>\n<li>Examples:\n<ul>\n<li>GOES (USA)<\/li>\n<li>EUMETSAT (Europe)<\/li>\n<li>Japanese Geostationary Satellite (130\u00b0E)<\/li>\n<li>INSAT (India)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Five geostationary satellites are sufficient to provide nearly global coverage.<\/li>\n<li>Satellite imagery is generally updated every <strong>3 hours<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indian Meteorological Satellites:<\/strong> KALPANA, INSAT-3D and METSAT.<\/li>\n<li>The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also receives meteorological data from <strong>NOAA<\/strong>, <strong>MODIS (USA)<\/strong> and <strong>OCEANSAT<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Satellite Imagery<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Satellite imagery is analysed using:\n<ul>\n<li>Brightness.<\/li>\n<li>Texture.<\/li>\n<li>Pattern.<\/li>\n<li>Shape.<\/li>\n<li>Structure.<\/li>\n<li>Size.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Radiometers onboard satellites measure:\n<ul>\n<li>Radiation.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud-top temperature.<\/li>\n<li>Earth&#8217;s surface temperature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>These measurements are processed to generate information on:\n<ul>\n<li>Vertical temperature profile.<\/li>\n<li>Humidity.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud-top height.<\/li>\n<li>Sea surface temperature.<\/li>\n<li>Upper winds.<\/li>\n<li>Convective clouds.<\/li>\n<li>Mesoscale weather systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Example of Satellite Bulletin<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m29-radar-satellite-reports-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<pre><code>\nIDENTIFIER              SAT BLTN\nSATELLITE INFORMATION   BASED ON METSAT PIC\nDATE &amp; TIME             271200 UTC\nCONVECTIVE CLOUDS       CURVED BAND OF VORTEX OVER EC BAY HAS REDUCED,\n                        NOW CENTRED OVER 16N\/91E RPT 16N\/91E\nLOW\/MEDIUM CLOUDS       SCT TO BKN LOW\/MED CLOUDS,\n                        EMBDD MOD TO INT CONVECTION OVER\n                        BAY OF BENGAL, ARABIAN SEA,\n                        INDIAN OCEAN =\n<\/code><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Radar and Satellite Reports Types of Weather Radar Ground weather radars are classified according to their function. Quantitative Radars (10 cm): Measure the intensity and rate of precipitation. Ultra-Sensitive Radars: Detect cloud convection and study Clear Air Turbulence (CAT), gravity waves and lee waves. Plan Position Indicator (PPI): Displays weather echoes in plan view using range and bearing. Range Height Indicator (RHI): Displays the altitude or vertical profile of weather echoes such as Cumulonimbus (CB) cells. Doppler Weather Radar (DWR): Uses the Doppler principle to detect and forecast thunderstorms, tornadoes,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-meteorology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16703,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15868\/revisions\/16703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}