Enroute Icing

### Produced by The COMET® Program

### Step 1: Diagnosing Locations of Icing » NEXRAD Radar » Data

Here’s the animated regional radar for the mid-Mississippi Valley and lower Midwest from 0900 UTC to 1300 UTC 26 February 2011. Examine the data, then answer the question.

#### Question

Which statements about the radar animation are true?

a) Bright banding is evident over areas west of KORD at 13 UTC
b) Precipitation is decreasing over areas west of KORD at 13 UTC
c) Precipitation is increasing over areas west of KORD at 13 UTC
d) We need more data to determine the locations of potential icing at 13 UTC

The correct answers are c, d.

Option A is incorrect since there’s no bright banding anywhere in the regional radar at 13 UTC. Option B is incorrect and option C correct because radar shows increasing precipitation coverage from 12 to 13 UTC. Option D is also correct because we cannot get information on the vertical temperature structure from the radar data.

Here is the answer in graphical form. The area enclosed in white shows the location of precipitation, and thus areas of potential icing where temperatures are below 0°C.

Please make a selection.