Comparison between Solid State and Magnetron C-band radars in Toulouse

From January 2025 to the end of July 2025, a solid-state meteorological polarimetric radar was tested at Météo France International in Toulouse. During this period, colleagues at Météo France International experimented with various scanning strategies using different pulse characteristics. Overall, the testing campaign was successful. One key advantage was the presence of a magnetron weather radar at the same location, which enabled direct comparison of the data. A portion of this poster focuses on that comparison.
The radar, equipped with a 2.4-meter antenna and a 1.7° beamwidth, utilized two 5 kW C-band solid-state power amplifiers. Over the six month testing period, it captured a wide range of meteorological phenomena, from microphysical processes within stratiform precipitation systems to the development of a mesoscale convective vortex, as well as intense supercell storms accompanied by large hail. Selected cases, such as the supercells observed on 3 May 2025 and the mesoscale convective vortex on 19 May 2025, will be presented and analyzed further in the poster.
Since the two radars were installed in close proximity at a distance of approximately 200 meters, their outputs could be directly compared. For this comparison, two different weather scenarios were selected, a winter case with stratiform precipitation and a summer case involving severe rotating thunderstorms, specifically supercells. Both radars produced broadly similar measurements, with any differences mainly arising from the methods used to calculate certain polarimetric variables, such as the correlation coefficient (RhoHV) and specific differential phase (KDP).
The Meteopress and Météo-France radars differ in their scanning strategies. Météo France used a triple PRF scheme, while Meteopress employed a staggered PRF, which can lead to differences in the quality of Doppler radial velocity measurements. Reflectivity data from the Météo-France was attenuation-corrected, resulting in notable differences between the radars in regions of higher reflectivity, especially behind convective cells where attenuation is strongest. Additionally, differences in censoring and filtering techniques contribute to the variations observed between the two radar datasets.
In our poster, we will present the differences using examples of measured data, together with a more detailed comparison of radar reflectivity or differential reflectivity (ZDR).