It's somewhat difficult to see on the rap.ucar site, but the velocities appear too weak for these returns to be birds. Birds typically fly in the 20-35 kt range, but obviously that requires the targets to be moving towards or away from the radar for that to show up. However, it seems that would have happened at some point during the event. I'm also not aware of any bird species that would exhibit this type of movement during the late afternoon hours. The way these returns move appears odd even for an insect hatch, but maybe that's the explanation? If these are biological targets, I would think this pattern will display itself again in the near future or sometime around this date next year. -Colby
It's somewhat difficult to see on the rap.ucar site, but the velocities appear too weak for these returns to be birds. Birds typically fly in the 20-35 kt range, but obviously that requires the targets to be moving towards or away from the radar for that to show up. However, it seems that would have happened at some point during the event. I'm also not aware of any bird species that would exhibit this type of movement during the late afternoon hours. The way these returns move appears odd even for an insect hatch, but maybe that's the explanation? If these are biological targets, I would think this pattern will display itself again in the near future or sometime around this date next year. -Colby
ReplyDeleteThanks Colby. I'm suspect it's bugs to give concentrated returns of that magnitude, but admit that I'm not "one with nature." The mystery remains...
ReplyDelete