Definition
A weather report issued by radar weather stations describing the type, intensity, location, movement, and tops of areas of precipitation detected by weather radar. It typically includes the time of observation, echo pattern (such as line, area, or cell), coverage, intensity trend, direction and speed of movement, and the maximum echo top.
Plain English
A short report from a weather radar station that tells you where rain or storms are showing up on radar, how strong they are, which way they're moving, and how high they reach.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation weather study, preflight weather briefings, and older FAA weather product discussions.
Derivation
The product code 'SD' stands for 'Storm Detection,' which is what the radar was originally designed to find. Knowing this helps connect the abbreviation to its purpose: spotting and tracking precipitation and storms.
Why Pilots Care
Helps pilots avoid areas of heavy precipitation, turbulence, or icing that could affect flight safety.
Intuition Check
Do not read “report” here as just any casual weather update. In this context, it means a specific aviation weather product based on radar observations.
Example Sentence 1
During the preflight briefing, the pilot reviewed the radar weather report and saw a line of thunderstorms moving east at 25 knots across the planned route.
Example Sentence 2
Before takeoff the pilot checked the latest SD to confirm no heavy precipitation near the destination airport.