VCP dependence removed from WDSS-II

In the past, in order to create a volumetric product in WDSS-II, it was required that the VCP used by the radar be known. This was not a problem for users working with data from the WSR-88D network, but for those utilizing data from outside of that network, a few extra steps were required, including the creation of a “fake” VCP file that contained the levels at which the radar had scanned.

However, the WSR-88D network recently adopted two new concepts to its scanning strategies. The Automated Volume Scan Evaluation and Termination (AVSET) concept allows any site to not perform higher-elevation scans when no storms are detected. The Supplemental Adaptive Intra-Volume Low-Level Scan (SAILS) gives radars in the 88D network the capability of adding in a supplemental 0.5 degree scan at any time.

While AVSET and SAILS have many advantages to them, the combination of these concepts have made using the VCP of a radar to help build volumetric products unreliable. Therefore, rather than depending on the VCP to build virtual volumes, we have taken the VCP dependence out of all of our products. This means that when working with data from outside of the WSR-88D network, including data from outside the US, users no longer need to create these “fake” VCP files, nor does the VCP need to be defined in the data. Users simply need to be sure that an appropriate expiry time for each scan is specified (using the ExpiryInterval attribute in the netcdf files) to ensure that old data ages off in a timely fashion.

Algorithms affected include:  w2vil and w2circ.