190-00709-05 Rev. D
Garmin G1000 Pilot’s Guide for the Socata TBM 850/900
341
HAZARD AVOIDANCE
NEXRAD
NOTE:
NEXRAD data cannot be displayed at the same time as terrain, echo tops, turbulence, or icing data
is displayed.
The National Weather Service (NWS) operates the WSR-88D, or NEXRAD (NEXt-generation RADar)
system, an extensive network of 156 high-resolution Doppler radar systems. The NEXRAD network provides
centralized meteorological information for the continental United States and selected overseas locations. The
maximum range of a single NEXRAD site is 250 nm. In addition to a wide array of services, the NEXRAD
network provides important information about severe weather and air traffic safety.
Individual NEXRAD sites supply the network with radar images, and the images from each radar site may
arrive at the network at different rates and times. Periodically, the weather data provider compiles the available
individual site images from the network to form a composite image, and assigns a single time to indicate when
it created the image. This image becomes the NEXRAD weather product. Individual images--gathered from
each NEXRAD site--differ in age, and are always older than the displayed NEXRAD weather product age. The
data provider then sends the NEXRAD data to the SiriusXM Weather service, whose satellites transmit this
information during the next designated refresh time for the NEXRAD weather product.
Because of the time required to detect, assemble, and distribute the NEXRAD weather product, the displayed
weather information contained within the product may be significantly older than the current radar synopsis
and may not depict the current weather conditions. The NEXRAD weather product should never be used as a
basis for maneuvering in, near, or around areas of hazardous weather regardless of the information it contains.
Figure 6-10 NEXRAD Data on the Weather Data Link (XM) Page