D DE ET TE ER RM MI IN NA AT TI IO ON N O OF F A AM MO OU UN NT T O OF F R RA AI IN NF FA AL LL L U US SI IN NG G D DO OP PP PL LE ER R R RA AD DA AR R

Radar basics and the Doppler shift

NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar) obtains weather information (precipitation and wind) based upon returned
energy. The radar emits a burst of energy (green in the image). If the energy strikes an object (rain drop, snowflake,
hail, bug, bird, etc), the energy is scattered in all directions (blue).
Note: it's a small fraction of the emitted energy that is scattered directly back toward the radar.