#raingain

An X-band radar in the heart of London

In March 2013, UK RainGain partners installed a portable X-band RS90 'Rainscanner' weather radar on the rooftop of a tall building in Central London. The installation was rather challenging and we nearly froze up there, but the view and the experience was definitely worth it!

The radar was lent to us by radar manufacturer Selex for a period of 6 months, so unfortunately we had to dismount it at the end of 2013. While it was operational we were lucky to capture a couple of good storms over Central London and we also used it to monitor rainfall and drizzle during the Wimbledon All-England Lawn Tennis Championship. We are currently processing the data we collected and will soon have some results to show!

This experiment not only allowed us to assess the added value of a low‑cost small X-band radar for urban hydrological applications, but it also enabled us to explore the feasibility and identify the challenges associated to the deployment and operation of an X-band radar in the heart of a dense urban area such as London (e.g. mitigation of radiation risk, filtering of dynamic clutter coming from multiple communication devices within the city, amongst others).

All in all, lots of lessons were learnt from this experiment which we will be sharing soon! 

Susana Ochoa-Rodríguez

A strange object was spotted several times in the last decade by weather radars located in Paris, London, Cabaw and Leuven. The fast moving blip was always sighted on radar screens on the 25th of December between 00:45 and 1:00 am, directed from North to South. The red areas in the radar image below describe the apparently random itinerary followed by the unidentified flying object.

Scientists plan to implement new technologies that could provide further information on the unexplained phenomenon. In spring 2014 two last generation X-band radars will be installed in the Paris Region and in Rotterdam, while radars already in use in Leuven and London will continue to be tested and possibly upgraded. Hopefully these devices will provide high-resolution images of the mysterious visitor and will give enlightening insights on this Christmas Eve event.