Weatherford Wind Farm

Blue Canyon Wind Farm

Appearance of OK Wind Farms Varies with Time and Radar Beam Propagation

Blue Canyon Wind Farm Appearance Varies With Beam Propagation

Spurious Echo Return from McLean County, IL Wind Farm

False Precipitation Estimates Resulting from Wind Farm (McLean Co, IL)

Radar Reflectivity Product from Ft Drum, NY

False echoes from the wind farm are evident; note weather coming from the West. Operators looking at any single image in the loop, would see what appears to be thunderstorms, in the area occupied by the wind farm. See following slide.

Wind Farm

Close up of Ft Drum, NY wind farm; Note strong echoes along the leading edge as well as weak return behind the turbines, due to “multi-path scattering” of radar beam. Weather is approaching from the West.

RADAR

Wind Turbines on Ridge

Wind Turbines on Ridge

Spurious Multi-path scatter region

This velocity image matches the previous reflectivity product. The picture has been zoomed to show only that area associated with echoes caused by the wind towers/turbines. The echoes downrange from the wind towers/turbines are spurious as shown on the previous slide. Red colors indicate outbound velocities (going away from the radar) and green colors indicate inbound velocities (coming toward the radar). Red colors in close proximity to green colors can be indicators of tornadoes, mesocyclones, convergence or divergence, all of which can be indicators of severe weather.

Majority of Turbines

When wind turbines are placed within 2-3 miles as they are to the north-east-southeast of this site, even the data from higher elevations are affected. This reflectivity product shows the echoes generated by the towers/turbines on the second elevation (nominal 1.5 degrees). The corresponding velocity image follows.

Velocity image from the second elevation scan. This second tilt is contaminated by spurious echoes, and mix with environmental wind data.

Clear Air Return

Wind Turbine Return

Great Falls, MT

Impact of Carroll County, Iowa wind farms on WSR-88D

Evening of 18 July 2007

Karl Jungbluth, SOO DMX

0236 UTC Reflectivity 2007 July 19Are returns from Wind Farms or real storms???

• Emergency manager mentioned some confusion as storms moved in.

• Question sent to webmaster from a user who had trouble differentiating between storms and false echoes.

0236 UTC Reflectivity 2007 July 19Are returns from Wind Farms or real storms???

Emergency manager mentioned some confusion as storm moved in.

• Question sent to webmaster from a user who had trouble differentiating between storms and false echoes.

Wind Farms

Storms

0512 UTC Storm Total Precipitation 19 July 2007Erroneous 5”+ estimates due to wind farms