Definition
A ground-based or airborne radar system designed to detect, locate, and measure the height, density, and movement of clouds and precipitation by transmitting radio energy and analyzing the returns reflected from water droplets and ice particles in the atmosphere.
Plain English
A radar built to see clouds. It sends out radio signals, and the way those signals bounce back tells operators where clouds are, how thick they are, how high they reach, and which way they are moving.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of airborne weather radar, weather avoidance, and flight near clouds or storms.
Derivation
Radar is short for Radio Detection And Ranging — a system that uses radio waves to find objects and measure how far away they are. Cloud Detection Radar simply applies that same principle to clouds rather than to aircraft or ships.
Why Pilots Care
The cloud and precipitation data gathered by these radars feeds into the weather products pilots use for flight planning — including reports of cloud tops, precipitation intensity, and storm movement.
Intuition Check
Cloud Detection Radar does not mean a system that sees every cloud exactly like a human eye. It detects cloud or weather areas only when there is enough moisture, ice, or precipitation to send back a usable radar echo.
Example Sentence 1
Cloud detection radar showed a band of heavy precipitation moving east across the route.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance verified that the cloud detection radar was transmitting and receiving properly during the postflight inspection.