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Geography / Weather and climate / Grade 5 / gc5r1

Choose the Right Radar Evidence

Match a radar product to the question before interpreting its marks.

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Radar sends pulses and measures returned energy. Reflectivity compares return strength; velocity describes motion toward or away from the radar. Read the product, legend, location and time. A strong return is not a tornado diagnosis, and a motion component is not every direction of motion. Compare the same product over several times to investigate change.

Worked example

A fictional reflectivity panel labels a stronger return beside a weaker one. That compares signal strength, not wind direction. A separate velocity panel labels a target moving toward the radar. It describes the toward-or-away part of motion, not the full wind at every height or place.

Two fictional Cedar Station products at 11:00 a.m. R is Reflectivity, with outlined weaker and shaded stronger returns. V is Velocity, with P moving toward a central radar and Q moving away. Text labels define every mark without relying on color.
Same station and time, different measurements. R and V are not a before-and-after sequence.

Two Invented Products at Cedar Station

Both panels are labeled Cedar Station, 11:00 a.m. Panel R is Reflectivity: its legend labels weaker and stronger returned signals. Panel V is Velocity: P is labeled toward the radar and Q away from the radar. The marks are invented. No tornado report, surface observation or later scan is supplied. For real weather decisions, use current official local alerts and adult guidance, not these drawings.

Question 1 Which panel answers a question about returned signal strength?
Question 2 What does the Q label in V tell you?
Question 3 Would the same color necessarily mean the same thing in R and V?
Question 4 Does the stronger return in R prove that a tornado is occurring?
Question 5 Which comparison would help investigate how the returns changed over time?