Vaisala has signed a contract with the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) for the delivery of three weather radars
and the related services. The new dual polarization weather radars will replace three FMI’s current radars, and they will be taken into use during 2012-2013. The total value of the contract is 3.2 million euros, including an option for the delivery of two additional radars.
The contract is part of FMI’s project to renew the entire Finnish weather radar network. Vaisala has already delivered three new dual polarization radars to the network in 2009-2010.
A weather radar is the single most effective device to observe precipitation. It provides valuable information for local short-term weather forecasts, for example.
"The information that national weather radar networks provide is critical for the functioning of modern societies. The dual polarization radar developed by Vaisala provides significantly more accurate information on rainfall and different precipitation types, which is especially valuable in improving the safety of road and air traffic", says Juhani Damski, Director of Weather and Safety at FMI.
Vaisala’s weather radar is the first dual polarization weather radar in the world designed specifically for operational use. Dual polarization refers to technology where the radar transmits microwave pulses both horizontally and vertically, making it possible to identify the shape of the measured object. This, in turn, enables distinguishing between different types of precipitation as well as between the rainfall and non-meteorological objects, such as birds and insects. The dual polarization also enables measuring the intensity of precipitation more accurately.
