earth science

WSR-57

WSR-57 is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WSR-57 rather than just read about it. In short: WSR-57 radars were the primary weather surveillance radar used by the United States for over 35 years. The National Weather Service operated a network of this model radar across the country, watching for severe weather.

Key takeaways

WSR-57 belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WSR-57 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WSR-57 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WSR-57 radars were the primary weather surveillance radar used by the United States for over 35 years. The National Weather Service operated a network of this model radar across the country, watching for severe weather.

History

The WSR-57 (Weather Surveillance Radar – 1957) was the first 'modern' weather radar. Initially commissioned at the Miami Hurricane Forecast Center, the WSR-57 was installed in other parts of the Contiguous United States (CONUS). The WSR-57 was the first generation of radars designed expressly for a national warning network. The WSR-57 was designed in 1957 by Dewey Soltow using World War II technology, using modified versions of those used by United States Navy aircraft. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, it was designated AN/FPS-41, as the 41st design of an Army-Navy fixed radar(pulsed) electronic device for searching. It provided only coarse reflectivity data and no velocity data, which made it extremely difficult to predict tornadoes. Weather systems were traced across the radar screen using grease pencils. Forecasters had to manually turn a crank to adjust the radar's scan elevation, and needed considerable skill to judge the intensity of storms based on green blotches on the radar scope. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has pictures of the Charleston, SC, WSR-57 radar image of the 1989 Hurricane Hugo. A WSR-57 dish, located on the roof of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), was blown away by Hurricane Andrew. The NHC report on Hurricane Andrew shows its last radar image, as well as images from nearby WSR-88D radars. As the network of WSR-57 radars aged, some were replaced with WSR-74S models of similar performance but with better reliability. WSR-57 operators sometimes had to scramble for spare parts no longer manufactured in this country. 128 of the WSR-57 and WSR-74 model radars were spread across the country as the National Weather Service's radar network until the 1990s. The WSR-57 radars were gradually replaced by the Weather Surveillance Radar - 1988, Doppler, WSR-88D, which NOAA named the NEXRAD network. The last WSR-57 radar in the United States was decommissioned on December 2, 1996.

Radar properties

Operates on a wavelength of 10.3 cm (2,900 MHz), in the S band, which is also used by today's weather radar network. WSR-57 radars had the following statistics: Dish diameter: 12 feet (3.7 m) Power output: 410,000 watts Maximum range: 494 to 171 nmi (915 to 317 km; 568 to 197 mi) depending on Pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) used

Radar sites The 66 former sites of the WSR-57 include the following:

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WSR-57

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WSR-57 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WSR-57 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WSR-57 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WSR-57

In research: WSR-57 appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WSR-57 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WSR-57 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Meteorological events in 1957, Military electronics of the United States, Military equipment introduced in the 1950s, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WSR-57 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WSR-57 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WSR-57 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WSR-57 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WSR-57 in simple terms?

Why does WSR-57 matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WSR-57?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WSR-57.