Radar Operations Center

PRF Selection

Modifying the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) can change where the range folded (purple) areas appear in the data. In general for the WSR-88D, using a higher PRF gives a higher interval of velocity before wrapping, but shortens the range to the first trip (or has multiple trips). Using a lower PRF moves the range folded area further out in range, but has a lower interval of velocity before wrapping.

Storm-based Auto PRF

Using up to 3 significant storm cells, an optimum PRF is automatically selected to reduce range folding in the storm cores.

Storm-Based AUTO PRF - How it Works
Storm-Based AUTO PRF - Details
Storm-Based AUTO PRF - A Presentation
Storm-Based AUTO PRF - Investigation Report

Elevation-based Auto PRF

A PRF is automatically selected for each elevation angle to reduce the amount of range folding within the first 230 km without consideration for the importance of any individual storm.

Manual PRF

Manual selection of the PRF in up to 3 user-defined sectors may be beneficial compared to having a single PRF used for the entire scan. These sectors/PRF choices must be manually updated as the weather moves.