<< >> NASA ASRS Report 741828, June 2007

ZTL controller voiced concern regarding nexrad WX information; reporting requirements and limitations reference actual altitude of WX events.

Attributes
ACN	741828
Time
Date	200706
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : atl.airport
State Reference	GA
Environment
Weather Elements	Turbulence Thunderstorm Rain
Light	Daylight
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : radar
Experience	controller radar : 22
ASRS Report	741828
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	FAA
Primary Problem	FAA
Situations
ATC Facility	other physical facility

Narrative:

The display of WX in nexrad requires depiction of all WX data from 000-999. This depiction is useless and somewhat confusing to look at because it does not give a true depiction of what is actually there. It also seemed to very confuse the pilots and made them question their WX radar and request suggestions based on what I was seeing; even though all PIREPS pretty much confirmed I had a very erroneous depiction of the WX. This is very unsafe and greatly reduces the number of aircraft that can safely be worked. A true stratified depiction that fits the altitude of the airspace would be much better and more useful.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZTL CTLR VOICED CONCERN REGARDING NEXRAD WX INFO; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS REFERENCE ACTUAL ALT OF WX EVENTS.

Narrative: THE DISPLAY OF WX IN NEXRAD REQUIRES DEPICTION OF ALL WX DATA FROM 000-999. THIS DEPICTION IS USELESS AND SOMEWHAT CONFUSING TO LOOK AT BECAUSE IT DOES NOT GIVE A TRUE DEPICTION OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY THERE. IT ALSO SEEMED TO VERY CONFUSE THE PLTS AND MADE THEM QUESTION THEIR WX RADAR AND REQUEST SUGGESTIONS BASED ON WHAT I WAS SEEING; EVEN THOUGH ALL PIREPS PRETTY MUCH CONFIRMED I HAD A VERY ERRONEOUS DEPICTION OF THE WX. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE AND GREATLY REDUCES THE NUMBER OF ACFT THAT CAN SAFELY BE WORKED. A TRUE STRATIFIED DEPICTION THAT FITS THE ALT OF THE AIRSPACE WOULD BE MUCH BETTER AND MORE USEFUL.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.