KAKE Channel 10 Meteorologist and EHS class of 2004 alumni Frank Waugh visited El Dorado High School on Mar. 20, 2024, to teach students about using radar to identify severe weather conditions.
Students watched a short video Waugh created that talked about the history of radar being used to track weather and the local origin of doppler radar.
Radar itself was first used by the military (APS2) but was modified for ground use after World War II, becoming Weather Radar I. In 1947, Wichita, Kansas, was the first weather bureau to have their own radar system.
In the 1950s, the first connection between the “hook” that appeared on radar and the formation of a tornado was made. After studying the Udall, Kansas, tornado and radar imaging from May 25, 1955, meteorologists were able to determine that the tornado formed followed the path of the hook they were able to see on the radar scans.
As technology improved, the desire for more information drove meteorologists to purchase surplus radar equipment from the U.S. Navy, and they constructed two trailers with double dish doppler radar. The doppler radar would be able to detect wind speed and the direction of objects in a storm system. They stationed one trailer in Wichita Falls, Texas, and one in Wichita, Kansas.
On June 10, 1958, a tornado ripped through El Dorado, Kansas. While its effects were devastating to the community, killing fourteen and injuring nearly 100 more, it was a momentous event for meteorologists. This was the first time doppler radar was positioned to record storm data, including wind gusts over 200 MPH. That data was used to refine doppler radar into today’s early detection system.
After the video, Waugh talked to students about identifying severe weather and how the National Weather Service determines whether or not a storm is considered severe. To reach the severe category, a storm has to produce at least 1-inch hail (the size of a quarter) or include wind gusts of at least 58 miles per hour. The determining hail size used to be a penny, but after studying the effects of hail in the midwest, they decided that size did not do enough damage to be considered severe and upped it to quarter-size.
There are two ways that can be used to see if a storm meets the criteria to trigger a severe weather alert. The first is ground truth, which is visual confirmation by a trained spotter. The second is radar indications of certain criteria and signatures that indicate the storm is capable of meeting or exceeding the hail or wind thresholds.
Waugh used pictures to illustrate the difference between wall clouds and shelf clouds. Shelf clouds are low level, horizontal clouds that indicate high wind gusts. These are unlikely to produce tornados. Wall clouds are a lowering from a cumulonimbus cloud and indicate the existence of an updraft. Sometimes there is a slight visual rotation, but not always. These are a good indication that a tornado is imminent.
When reporting severe weather to news stations, it is important to let them know the time, what exactly is happening, the precise location – using landmarks if unsure of directions, and use comparison objects to demonstrate size in photos or videos.
KAKE covers 70 counties, so having staff on scene during severe weather is not always possible. “We use radar when we don’t have eyes on the storm,” Waugh said.
Radar is an acronym for its function: radio detection and ranging. Electromagnetic waves are sent out and the echoes are used to determine reflectivity. It “sees” precipitation versus non precipitation and displays heavier precipitation as brighter colors. The hook echo on these radar readings indicate the presence of tornadic conditions.
Doppler radar adds velocity to the data and detects the speed and motion of objects in a storm. Green indicates motion toward the radar, while red indicates motion away from the radar. If you have these two colors side-by-side, it is an indication that a tornado could develop in that area.
The addition of dual-polarization radar (dual-pol) allows the tracking of the Y plane instead of just the X plane. This is referred to as the correlation coefficient (cc) and indicates whether particles are similar to each other. Maroon means they are all relatively the same size and shape. Blue indicates they are less similar in composition and is usually an indication of debris being present inside the storm, typically from tornadic activity.
“The chances of any of becoming a meteorologist are slim,” Waugh said. “But you can have access to all of the same information we use in the studio on your own phone.” He told them about RadarScope, which is an app that shows current doppler radar readings so you can track storm activity even if you are not around a radio or television.
As a senior in high school, Waugh wanted to go into wildlife conservation. He talked to one of his high school science teachers, who told him that had been their original desire, too. It was a difficult field to make a living in, so they had become a teacher instead.
Waugh knew he did not want to become a teacher, so over Christmas break of his senior year he thought about what other options might appeal to him. He had taken a broadcast journalism class and really enjoyed it, and he liked science. He decided to combine the two and become a meteorologist. There was only one college in Kansas at that time with a meteorology degree – The University of Kansas. After earning his high school diploma at EHS in 2004, he headed to Lawrence where he completed his bachelor’s degree before accepting the job at KAKE.
