Chaff Confuses Radar

[Ed1]

I pulled up the nexrad radar today at 2:30pm to see what was going on
in my area of Central Florida. By looking at the radar image I seen
precipation had moved into my area, like right over my house.

But there wasn't a cloud of any kind in the entire sky...completely blue as far as the eye could see.

So I called up the Weather Service in Melbourne, FL and asked what was going on with the Radar and
a gentleman that I spoke with said it was
military aircraft releasing Chaff ..probably for an excercise.

So I had to get on the Web and read about Chaff used to fool Radars

http://www.af.mil/environment/contrails_flares.asp

"After the chaff is ejected from the aircraft and into the aircraft slipstream, the chaff packages burst open and the fibers scatter
to form a radar-reflective cloud called a chaff corridor. Each chaff package is designed to simulate an aircraft. Several aircraft can create a chaff curtain, consisting of thousands of false targets, which confuse the radar guidance package on a missile so they are unable to locate the real targets within the chaff cloud. "

[Aquawind]

Yep those radar can pick all kinds of stuff.. We use to watch waterfowl come and go from the wildlife refuges up in Minnesota during the fall. Chaff can bee seen down by the Keys regularly..It's totally annoying..as even though I know it's clear outside sometimes I still have to check..

Paul

[Ed1]

LOL

I guess they can simulate about anything...even a monsoon with that Chaff.

[Aquawind]

The bird thing is no joke.. For sure deal they leave the water for daytime feeding in the fields and come back to the water in the evening.. Were talking 10's of thousands of birds..like clockwork..Clear Air mode of course..Radar doesn't need to be in clear air mode for Chaff of course.

Paul

[ETXHAMXYL]

I remember back in Feb when the shuttle blew up over us here in ETX. that the local radars picked up the debris field. Some of that debris landed in our pasture. Radars are very sensitive these days. I'll never forget the sound and my house shaking or looking up knowing that something was not right. It was so silent watching the debris fall from the sky and how weird it was learning later what it really was falling out of the sky above.

[Ed1]

I'm just use to interpreting the above radar as preciptation.

learned something new today

[Terry]

Looks like Chaff is headed to the Bahamas.

Thanks for sharing this, Ed. I've never seen our radar looking like that before.

[Ed1]

Yep..the ol chaff got the best of me.
I thought we were going to get rain.

[PurdueWx80]

There is also some out in eastern Oregon - http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS ... kcbx.shtml

My new job consists of masking composite radar and satellite images - Chaff is something we have to watch out for daily. It shows up nearly every day in areas such as the desert SW, southern MS/AL/GA and almost always near the Keys. You'll see it every now and then in the Dakotas and MN as well.

[Ed1]

There it is again...the classic Chaff radar signature.

I guess I've never actually watched the Radars this frequently before.

Thanks PurdueWx for the input