The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather research laboratory under the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs).
NSSL's first Doppler weather radar, the NSSL Doppler, located in Norman, Oklahoma. 1970s research using this radar led to NWS NEXRAD WSR-88D radar network.
The first tornado captured on May 24, 1973, by the NSSL Doppler weather radar and NSSL chase personnel. The tornado is here in its early stage of formation near Union City, Oklahoma
Weather radar
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Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type. Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation. Both types of data can be analyzed to determine the structure of storms and their potential to cause severe weather.
Weather radar in Norman, Oklahoma with rainshaft
Weather (WF44) radar dish
Typhoon Cobra as seen on a ship's radar screen in December 1944.
1960s radar technology detected tornado producing supercells over the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.