island_airphoto
Are you sure the super-cell would not be black on a new radar too? Very early on with the monochrome digital radar we had back in the day, we learne the black blobs in the middle of the green returns were the worst areas to fly, not holes in the storms. The physics of extreme rain absorbing the radio waves has not changed.
The old radars were monochrome. So how did you tell the difference between attenuation caused by a super cell and an actual gap? You couldn't. Well, maybe if you were highly skilled in the black arts you might be that kind of genius who just COULD tell the difference. Black holes didn't always appear neatly ensconced in the centre of green blobs. In the event I referred to the guys reported no green contour - just a nice clear (black) gap between the green blobs. A sucker hole.
With a modern contoured radar what would you expect to see in the same scenario?
A green contour, followed by a yellow contour, followed by a red contour, maybe some purple - then, what? A hole? Blackness?
Well it might depend on your radar set, but my suggestion is you don't go near RED or PURPLE, and try your best to avoid YELLOW and GREEN too.
That'll keep you safe.
No guesswork or black art required.
PS Radar attenuation is part and parcel of the system. If a sufficiently strong beam is emitted it could pass through all weather giving no returns. Not much good for WX spotting.
The signal needs to be of just the right strength to be partially reflected thus showing the WX. The snag is the weaker beam also suffers attenuation.