Da un Weather Radar Pilot's Guide...
OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
All of the limitations of the radar system have been consolidated here because of their importance. This section should be read thoroughly and frequently as a reminder of weather radar limitations.
• Airborne weather systems are not intended as a terrain or traffic collision avoidance system. Weather detection, analysis, and avoidance are the primary functions of the radar system.
• Your radar is a weather avoidance tool. It should never be used for weather penetration. It will help you see and plan avoidance maneuvers around significant weather encountered during flight.
• Radar detects rain drops and wet hail; not clouds, fog, dry hail, ice crystals, or snow.
• It is important to remember that radars detect the presence of precipitation. Storm associated turbulence without precipitation can extend several thousand feet above a storm and outward more than twenty nautical miles.
• Turbulence detection requires the presence of precipitation. Clear-air turbulence is not detected or displayed.
• The weather display corresponds to the selected range while the turbulence display is overlaid for the first 40 nm in AUTO mode (regardless of range selected).
• Below 1800 feet windshear and weather scans are interleaved. The windshear detection operation is transparent to the crew unless an alert is issued.
• Leave the system in TEST mode until it is safe to operate the radar. While in TEST mode there is no radiation hazard to nearby personnel.
Damaging hail can be thrown at least 20 nm from the storm cell by
upper level winds.