New weather RADAR blob
Bob K
For some time now, the Buffalo NEXRAD RADAR has had consistent blobs for
a group of wind turbines located southeast of Buffalo in Genesee County.
The past couple of days, I've noticed another blob showing up located up
in Canada. Roughly south of the tip of Georgian Bay, and northwest of
Toronto. This would be in the area of Melancthon, ON.
Looking at this area with Google Earth and Google maps, there are
several groups of wind turbines located there. Apparently have been
there for some time, since some photos were uploaded in 2005 and 2007.
Question: Why are these just starting to show up on the RADAR now?
...Bob
AZDuffman
I'd be looking at the RADAR and wonder if it has been upgraded or
somehow changed.
Bob K
That's a good thought -- but the echoes from the turbines on this side
of the border appear about the same. So, I'm still scratching my head.
...Bob
AZDuffman
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It could still be the RADAR that has been upgraded. It could just be
that the transceivers were upgraded at different times.
Lets look at it logically using an example. Say a TV Channel shows a
live B&W picture of Niagara Falls for years. All of the sudden it is
in color. We know the TV didn't change, we know the falls didn't
change color. So someone in this case upgraded the broadcast without
notifying anyone. I suspect this is the case.
John Passaniti
I'll ask Phil. He follows this kind of stuff to an alarming degree.
But here is my guess: I know weather radar systems have to be
calibrated periodically to account for mechanical wear, electronic
component aging, and changing ground conditions. And part of that
calibration procedure is to build up a map of static ground clutter
that is subtracted from the signal. So I'm guessing that changes in
foliage are likely perturbing those maps.
Another issue might be the wind turbines. During the summer, Phil and
I were bored and drove south to see some of these massive turbines.
But to our surprise, many of the turbines we saw weren't spinning. I
suspect that some were being constructed or in some maintenance mode.
Radar systems are likely to see a still turbine that isn't spinning
differently from one that is, and maybe that's contributing to what
you're seeing.
Bob K
John, I suspect you may be right!
Some time after I posted my original message, the blobs from the
Canadian area have gone. The ones up around Warsaw, or wherever they
are, remain as usual.
I know that not all the turbines show on radar. There is a large field
of them south of the Thruway, east of Syracuse. I have never seen them
on the radar -- the Binghamton site is well within their range.
Some time back, one morning I noticed the ones west of Warsaw were
missing -- that was about 7 AM. Gradually, starting about 10 AM they
started showing up again. Did they take the entire field down for
maintenance? I would think normally they would do that a few at a time
-- but then, that might make sense.
Anyhow -- thanks for the thoughts!
...Bob