The NCAS mobile dual-polarisation Doppler X-band weather radar (NXPol)
Abstract. In recent years, dual-polarisation Doppler X-band radars have become a widely
used part of the atmospheric scientist's toolkit for examining cloud dynamics
and microphysics and making quantitative precipitation estimates. This is
especially true for research questions that require mobile radars. Here we
describe the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) mobile X-band
dual-polarisation Doppler weather radar (NXPol) and the infrastructure used
to deploy the radar and provide an overview of the technical specifications.
It is the first radar of its kind in the UK. The NXPol is a
Meteor 50DX manufactured by Selex-Gematronik (Selex ES GmbH), modified to
operate with a larger 2.4  m diameter antenna that produces a 0.98 ∘ 
half-power beam width and without a radome. We provide an overview of the
technical specifications of the NXPol with emphasis given to the description
of the aspects of the infrastructure developed to deploy the radar as an
autonomous observing facility in remote locations. To demonstrate the radar's
capabilities, we also present examples of its use in three recent field
campaigns and its ongoing observations at the NERC Facility for
Atmospheric Radio Research (NFARR).