Radar and lidar products

A weather radar transmits pulse signals outwards to the atmosphere and receives reflected echoes of the signal. As the radar rotates around its vertical and horizontal axes, it gathers raw data by sending and receiving signals.

The raw data can be analyzed for signal properties, such as reflectivity and Doppler velocity, that are affected by the atmospheric conditions in the measured area. For example, a dense precipitation area reflects a stronger echo signal back toward the radar. These signal properties are processed to create radar products that are useful for meteorological purposes.

IRIS Focus is designed for use with dual-polarization Doppler radars that transmit and receive both horizontally and vertically polarized pulses. The combination of differential polarization modes allows for detailed analysis of atmospheric events such as detecting different precipitation types.

Radar products are raw signal data from a radar receiver processed to provide information about current weather conditions. IRIS Focus supports:

On-demand products	On-demand products are based on raw data from the IRIS back-end systems (IRIS - Interactive Radar Information System and/or TLP - the Total Lightning Processor). IRIS Focus processes data and generates products in real time. On-demand products provide control over the presentation of weather data in the IRIS Focus user interface. For example, you can change the parameter threshold of a selected product on the fly.
	IRIS Analysis radar products are configured and produced in IRIS Analysis and displayed by IRIS Focus on request.

For information on the algorithms used to process raw signal data in IRIS, see IRIS and RDA Dual-polarization User Guide (M211452EN) and RVP900 Digital Receiver and Signal Processor User Guide.