Weather Wise Q&A

Have you ever pulled up the radar on your phone or watched on TV and see what appears to be precipitation on radar when the sun is out?

You may think there is something wrong with the radar, but actually, there is not. You are seeing ground clutter.

Doppler Radar is so sensitive it can pick up insect and bird migrations and low-level air traffic.

Our Live Doppler 7 Radar, located near Germantown, actually detects traffic on Interstate 75 between Miamisburg and West Carrollton.

Storm Center 7 Chief Meteorologist Eric Elwell says the reason is because of the elevation change of the interstate between these locations and the position of WHIO's radar. Because the elevation increases from north to south in this area, the cars actually come into the radar's detection range.

The radar sees the cars as very heavy precipitation. Elwell says that during active weather, the Storm Center 7 team can filter out the traffic or “ground clutter” noise so that storms can easily be detected.