The WSR-1 or Weather Surveillance Radar-1 was one of the first weather radars and the first used by a civilian organization in the US. The WSR-1 series was a modified version of the AN/APS-2F radar, which the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) acquired from the Navy. The WSR-1A, WSR-3, and WSR-4 were also variants of this radar. The first WSR-1 in the USA was at Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., in 1947, and the last WSR-3 was retired by 1978.
History
In 1946, the US Weather Bureau (ancestor of the National Weather Service) retrieved 25 AN/APS-2F aeronautical radars from the US Navy. The radars have been modified and adapted to meteorology and then delivered at the rate of five per year. The modifications were conducted by the weather service and the modified radars took the successive names of WSR-1, WSR-1A, WSR-3 and WSR-4, depending on the gradual improvement of hardware. The first WSR-1 was put into service at the Washington, DC, national airport on March 12, 1947. The second began service on June 1, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas, in the heart of the Tornado Alley. In August of the same year, the WSR-1 installed at Norfolk, Nebraska proved its usefulness and cost savings by alerting the Elkhorn Valley power system of the approach of thunderstorms.
Three particularly severe weather events occurred during the spring of 1953 and led to the establishment of the Texas Tornado Warning Network. Major cities in Texas have been asked to fund the operation (both the private and public sectors) of modifying and implementing the WSR-1, WSR-1A, WSR-3 and WSR-4. The Weather Bureau agreed to operate these radars and maintain them in order to alert the public in case of danger, as soon as a visual confirmation was obtained. The establishment of the network became effective during a kick-off meeting on June 24, 1953. It took nearly six years for the network to be fully operational; 17 radars have been modified and installed thanks to the joint efforts of local authorities, the state, federal agencies and a university.
The APS-2F modified by Texas A & M University, although not actually part of the tornado surveillance network, was at least once used for warning purposes on April 5, 1956. After 1956 the modification of the APS-2F radars in their WSR-1, WSR-1A, WSR-3 and WSR-4 versions was assigned to the Weather Office headquarters which had to move some antennas that had originally been installed to locations where it was difficult to ensure the maintenance.
In April 1975, at the peak of the program, 82 WSR-1, WSR-1A, WSR-3 and WSR-4 were in service. Some were replaced by WSR-57s, but most remained in service until they were replaced by WSR-74s during a period from 1976 to 1980. No more remains in service today.
Characteristics
The WSR-1 to 4 series, the first operational weather radar in the United States, used the AN/APS-2F electronics, including a superheterodyne receiver, but with a larger antenna. As time progressed and experience with the original design increased, the Weather Bureau felt confident enough to upgrade the WSR-1 to WSR-1A, eventually finalizing on the WSR-3 and WSR-4 model. The WSR-4 upgrades included the removal of the original aircraft-oriented antenna in favor of a larger antenna, and the addition of a power converter such that it would now have the ability to function on conventional power.
The main difference between the versions was their display and the control of the probed atmospheric volume. The diameter of the dish was nearly 2 meters by the WSR-4. The wavelength used was about 10 cm which corresponds to a frequency of 3 GHz. This frequency is in the S band which is still used by the current US weather radar network. Thanks to the radars operative frequency, the attenuation due to the rain was almost zero, but the detection of a light rain or snow was delicate because of the weakness of the signal emitted by the radar (50 kW).
The WSR-1 used a panoramic display (PPI) placing weather echoes in azimuth/distance coordinates on a circular screen whose center represented the position of the radar, and also a linear oscilloscope (A-Scope) showing the intensity of the echoes according to their distance from the radar. Everything was mounted on a rack. The WSR-3 and WSR-4 used A-Scope displays and height/distance displays (RHI) which allows a vertical sectional view in a chosen direction. They were mounted next to each other on a console. The WSR-1A used the same displays but stacked vertically. From a technical point of view, the WSR-4 had a traveling-wave tube that improved the sensitivity compared to the WSR-3.
Radar Sites
The 82 radar sites of WSR1, 1A, 3 and 4 are listed below
Location Commissioned Decommissioned Replaced by Baton Rouge, LA August 16, 1955 1973? Burrwood, LA 1956 1960 WSR-4 Fort Worth, TX April 21, 1954 April 1961 WSR-57 Hartford, CT 1955 1959 WSR-3 Dodge City, KS June 13, 1954 July 25, 1963 WSR-3 Lubbock, TX 1954 August 1972 WSR-74C Norfolk, NE July 27, 1947 1976 WSR-74C North Omaha, NE 1955 1977 WSR-74C Oklahoma City, OK March 1, 1955 1960 WSR-57 Philadelphia, PA November 20, 1959 ? Pittsburgh, PA 1952? October 4, 1963 Port Arthur, TX July 15, 1955 ? St. Louis, MO June 1955 1960 WSR-57 Shreveport, LA November 1955 1976 WSR-74C Sioux Falls, SD 1956 1976? WSR-74C Springfield, MO June 28, 1957 ? Tampa, FL 1956 1960 WSR-57 Topeka, KS 1953 1957 WSR-3 Tulsa, OK May 4, 1956 1976 WSR-74C Waco, TX April 28, 1955 1976 WSR-74C Washington, DC March 12, 1947 ? Wichita, KS June 1, 1947 June 5, 1956 WSR-3 Wichita Falls, TX April 25, 1956(Replaced a military APS-2F radar) 1977 WSR-74C Worcester, MA March 16, 1956 1976 WSR-74C
Location Commissioned Decommissioned Replaced by Abilene, TX 25 March 1972 27 August 1977WSR-74C Albany, NY 12 November 1958 27 July 1977WSR-74C Astoria, OR 1 June 1959 1 November 1967 Binghamton, NY 15 June 1959 8 March 1978WSR-74S Chicago/Midway, IL 19 April 1958 January 1963WSR-57 Cleveland, OH 13 May 1957WSR-74C Columbia, MO August 1957 November 1977WSR-74C Columbus, OH 12 February 1959 19 January 1977 Detroit, MI 1 May 1957 12 September 1962WSR-57 Dodge City, KS 25 July 1963 25 July 1972 Eureka, CA 1957 June 1972Given to California State University in Humboldt Flint, MI 15 November 1957 15 January 1978 Fort Smith, AR 30 August 1960 29 December 1975 WSR-74C Fort Wayne, IN 1957 12 March 1976WSR-74C Hartford, CT 29 April 1959 April 1977 WSR-74C Hunstville, AL October 1958 1977 WSR-74C
Location Commissioned Decommissioned Replaced by Indianapolis, IN October 1959 September 1977WSR-74C Jackson, MS 1959 1969WSR-57 Little Rock, AR 19 December en remplacement d'un AN/APS-2E militaire 19 April 1962WSR-57 Macon, GA 21 April 1958 18 April 1977WSR-74C Madison, WI 29 March 1958 15 May 1979WSR-74C Memphis, TN 1957 ? Meridian, MS 16 August 1959 2 November 1976WSR-74C Miami, FL Durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale ? Montgomery, AL October 1958 1971 WSR-74C in 1977 Muskegon, MI 9 May 1957 25 March 1976WSR-74C Nashville, TN 2 April 1957 31 October 1970WSR-57 Richmond, VA 7 July 1958 October 1959 Rochester, MN September 1960 April 1976WSR-74C Scottbluff, MO Summer 1969 1978 Tatoosh Island, WA 1 October 1960 January 1964 Topeka, KS 1957 1976WSR-74C Wichita, Kansas 5 June 1956 22 June 1960WSR-57
Location Commissioned Decommissioned Replaced by Burrwood, LA 1960 ? Concordia, KS 1 June 1962 18 February 1977WSR-74C Savannah, GA 7 April 1960 1970
References