Well as 2SG says below is it possible yes. Is it probable? That I would question. Things to think about in that respect. The Nexrad antenna is constantly rotating at speeds between 5 degrees a second up to 36 degrees a second, depending on mode (clear air is very slow, precipitation mode is very fast). The antenna also moves in elevation…
Well as 2SG says below is it possible yes. Is it probable? That I would question. Things to think about in that respect. The Nexrad antenna is constantly rotating at speeds between 5 degrees a second up to 36 degrees a second, depending on mode (clear air is very slow, precipitation mode is very fast). The antenna also moves in elevation starting at .5 degrees and going up in increments up to 19.5 degrees. What I am trying to say is that the system is never pointed at a single spot. Antenna control is automated based on volume coverage pattern selected by operations personnel. There is no way to over ride that unless a technician is present at the site.
Also power output is a manual adjustment made by technician, meaning there is no way to increase or decrease power on the fly. There is no centralized control structure for the 159 Nexrads globally. Each is control by a weather forecast office or, in the case of some on foreign soil, military personnel. Not a single Nexrad is connected to the internet. The raw products produced by the radar go to a products generator via T1 or Fiber link. The products generator makes these available to a display system that then makes the products available to the public. So as of now, there is not a way for a nefarious third party to hijack control of these systems.
If I were to wonder the path of a Gulf generated hurricane once it makes land fall on the continental United States, I would superimpose the jet stream over CONUS while looking at that path. The jet stream moves from west to east over the CONUS all day, everyday. Any storm moving moving from south to north, coming from south of the jet stream will either break up or move east once encountering the jet stream.
If one could generate a storm in the right spot, knowing it will move north from there and knowing the path of the jet stream, once would need no other means of predicting where it would end up. The only uncertainty would be whether it would break up or move east.
Well as 2SG says below is it possible yes. Is it probable? That I would question. Things to think about in that respect. The Nexrad antenna is constantly rotating at speeds between 5 degrees a second up to 36 degrees a second, depending on mode (clear air is very slow, precipitation mode is very fast). The antenna also moves in elevation starting at .5 degrees and going up in increments up to 19.5 degrees. What I am trying to say is that the system is never pointed at a single spot. Antenna control is automated based on volume coverage pattern selected by operations personnel. There is no way to over ride that unless a technician is present at the site.
Also power output is a manual adjustment made by technician, meaning there is no way to increase or decrease power on the fly. There is no centralized control structure for the 159 Nexrads globally. Each is control by a weather forecast office or, in the case of some on foreign soil, military personnel. Not a single Nexrad is connected to the internet. The raw products produced by the radar go to a products generator via T1 or Fiber link. The products generator makes these available to a display system that then makes the products available to the public. So as of now, there is not a way for a nefarious third party to hijack control of these systems.
If I were to wonder the path of a Gulf generated hurricane once it makes land fall on the continental United States, I would superimpose the jet stream over CONUS while looking at that path. The jet stream moves from west to east over the CONUS all day, everyday. Any storm moving moving from south to north, coming from south of the jet stream will either break up or move east once encountering the jet stream.
If one could generate a storm in the right spot, knowing it will move north from there and knowing the path of the jet stream, once would need no other means of predicting where it would end up. The only uncertainty would be whether it would break up or move east.
This is, of course, just my conjecture.