Wind turbines create false storms on radar; Specious thunderstorm appear near Plattsburgh
Every day, all day, weather radar shows a small but intense thunderstorm northwest of Plattsburgh, N.Y. Further to the west, in central New York, where much of Vermont’s weather comes from, the radar shows a brewing mass of showers and storms, sometimes with a nascent tornado thrown in.
But these daily storms are not real.
They’re an unintended side effect of the wind farms cropping up on windy plateaus and mountains all over the nation.
Blog: Weather Rapport
Computer technicians can program sophisticated meteorological radar equipment to avoid registering stationary objects like hills and buildings, giving a clearer view of subtle weather patterns, said Andy Nash, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in South Burlington.
But programmers have trouble “erasing” large moving objects like clusters of wind turbines. The radar is designed to pick up changes in wind speed and direction, something encountered both in storms and near wind farms. A meteorologist who is aware of a wind farm can discount false radar echoes produced by the turbines, as National Weather Service meteorologists do in regards to the phantom storm outside Plattsburgh.
The trouble starts when a real storm moves into the area covered by the fake, turbine-created storm, Nash said. The wind turbines near Clinton, N.Y., northwest of Plattsburgh, could make it difficult to determine how much rain has fallen in the area, which in turn makes it hard to figure out if a flash-flood risk exists in the area, he said.
A representative of Noble Environmental Power, which operates the New York turbines, did not return messages seeking comment.
Radar used by the National Weather Service and other meteorologists can detect early signs of tornadoes, flash floods or damaging hail, affording a greater opportunity to warn the public. In a few instances, wind farms can interfere with the ability of forecasters to issue warnings, Nash said.
By Matt Sutkoski
Free Press Staff Writer
6 July 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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