Radar detects wildlife seeking refuge in the eye of Ian

Radar technology can help determine between what’s rain and what’s not

Birds seek refuge in the eye of Hurricane Ian

ROANOKE, Va. – Radar technology, while not perfect, can do a lot of things really well.

It can not only tell us the intensity of rain or where there are rotation/strong winds in a storm, but it can help decipher between what’s rain and what isn’t.

Recommended Videos



In the example of tornadoes, we can see where debris is located via a product called the correlation coefficient. That’s crucial to determining whether or not a tornado is on the ground.

In the case of landfalling hurricanes, this can separate rain from wildlife that seeks refuge in the eye of the storm.

How can radar detect birds?

That happened Wednesday morning, as Hurricane Ian inched closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The blue specks you see in the eye are likely birds, whereas the maroon you see is rain swirling around the center of Ian.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.