Abstract:
Systems and methods prepare ground-based supplemental weather radar information for integration with onboard weather radar information. An exemplary embodiment receives ground-based weather radar information from a ground-based weather radar station, the ground-based weather radar information referenced in a first coordinate system; generates supplemental weather radar information from the received ground-based weather radar information, wherein the supplemental weather radar information is referenced to a second coordinate system based upon at least latitude and longitude; and communicates the supplemental weather radar information, wherein the communicated supplemental weather radar information is integrated with weather radar information of an onboard weather radar system of an installation vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Weather radars, such as found on aircraft or marine vessels, display hazardous weather information based upon analyzed radar returns. Radar return information corresponding to detected hazardous weather information is presented to the crew of the aircraft or marine vessel on a display, typically using a plan view showing a geographic area over which the aircraft or vessel is traversing. 
     However, weather radars have a limited effective range. Supplemental weather radar information may be provided to the aircraft from remote sources. For example, ground-based weather radar systems can provide supplemental weather radar information to an aircraft. An exemplary supplemental weather radar information apparatus and method is described in the commonly assigned U.S. utility application to Brian Bunch, et. al., entitled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING NEXRAD INFORMATION TO VERIFY WEATHER RADAR INFORMATION,” having Ser. No. 12/476,726, filed on Jun. 2, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Aircraft weather information may be based upon two-dimensional (2-D) databases which are filled with radar return information (using bins, for example, based on range and bearing values with respect to the current location of the aircraft). In other embodiments, the presented weather radar displays may be based upon 3-D databases which are filled with radar return information (using 3-D bins or voxels, for example, based on range, azimuth, and bearing values with respect to the current location of the aircraft). An exemplary embodiment of a 3-D weather radar system is implemented in accordance with the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,667,710, filed on Feb. 19, 2002, to Cornell et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Although ground-based supplemental weather radar information may extend the effective range of an aircraft&#39;s airborne radar system, such ground-based supplemental weather radar information is not available in a format that is readily integrated into an airborne radar weather information database. Accordingly, it is desirable to improve the ground-based supplemental weather radar information for integration into the aircraft&#39;s airborne radar weather information database. Similar needs exist in other types of radar systems that may be configured to incorporate supplemental weather radar information into their respective radar information databases. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Systems and methods that prepare ground-based supplemental weather radar information for integration with onboard weather radar information are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment receives ground-based weather radar information from a ground-based weather radar station, the ground-based weather radar information referenced in a first coordinate system; generates supplemental weather radar information from the received ground-based weather radar information, wherein the supplemental weather radar information is referenced to a second coordinate system based upon at least latitude and longitude; and communicates the supplemental weather radar information, wherein the communicated supplemental weather radar information is integrated with weather radar information of an onboard weather radar system of an installation vehicle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred and alternative embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a planned flight path of an aircraft through a region of space having a plurality of storm cells, some of which are along the radar horizon or are beyond the effective range of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating the effective detection range of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar and the effective detection ranges of a plurality of ground-based weather radar stations; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the ground-based weather radar information system; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary process of processing supplemental weather radar information from a plurality of ground-based weather radar stations; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the ground-based weather radar information communication system implemented in an aviation electronics system of the aircraft; and 
         FIG. 6  is weather radar display image of the planned flight path through the plurality of storm cells based upon the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar system and information received from ground-based weather radar systems. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A weather radar information system  100  processes ground-based weather radar information received from one or more ground-based weather radar stations  102  into supplemental weather radar information. The supplemental weather radar information is then communicated to an installation vehicle, such as, but not limited to, an aircraft  104 . The term “weather” generally refers to any type of weather radar detectable weather phenomena, such as, but not limited to, storm cells, turbulence regions, lightning, precipitation, hail, snow, wind shear, icing conditions, and the like that the installation vehicle may encounter. Embodiments of the weather radar information system  100  may communicate the supplemental weather radar information to any suitable installation vehicle. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a planned flight path  106  of the aircraft  104  through a region of space  108  having a plurality of storm cells  110 ,  112 ,  114 , some of which may be beyond the effective range of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar. In  FIG. 1 , an illustrated region of space  108   a  is within an effective detection range  116  of the weather radar of the aircraft  104 . Here, the illustrated storm cell  110  is detectable by the onboard weather radar of the aircraft  104 . 
     However, a region  108   b  exists along the planned flight path  106  that is beyond the effective detection range  116  of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar. For example, the mountain range  118  simply blocks out and prevents detection of weather that is behind a mountain range  118 . Thus, the storm cell  112 , which is behind the peaks of the mountain range  118 , cannot be identified. Further, the storm cell  114  lies beyond the effective detection range  116  of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar. Accordingly, the aircraft  104  cannot detect the storm cell  114 . 
     The ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i  can reliably detect weather in their respective detection ranges  122   a ,  122   i  generally defined by a radius about the ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i . In this simplified example, ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i  are located relatively near the storm cells  112 ,  114 . Therefore, the storm cells  112 ,  114  are detectable by at least one of the respective detection ranges  122   a ,  122   i.    
     An example of ground-based weather radar information in the United States is the NEXRAD (next generation radar) weather information collected by a plurality of ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i  forming the NEXRAD network. Other examples of sources of ground-based weather radar information include single ground radar sites, or networks of coordinated ground-based radar sites, such as, but not limited to, the PANTHERE system in France. 
       FIG. 2  is a plan view  202  illustrating the effective detection range  116  of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar and the respective detection ranges  122   a ,  122   i  of the ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i , respectively. Similar to  FIG. 1 , reference numerals of the icons of  FIG. 2  correspond to the reference numerals of  FIG. 1 . 
     Embodiments of the weather radar information system  100  receive weather radar information from the ground-based weather radar stations  102 . The weather radar information system  100  processes the received ground-based weather radar information received from the ground-based weather radar stations  102  into a format that may be used by the aircraft  104  and may be used to supplement the weather information determined by the onboard weather radar of the aircraft  104 . The processed supplemental weather radar information is communicated to the aircraft  104 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the ground-based weather radar information system  100 . The exemplary embodiment comprises a communication system interface  302 , a processing system  304 , an optional user interface  306 , an aircraft communication system interface  308 , and a memory  310 . The communication system interface  302 , the processing system  304 , the optional user interface  306 , the aircraft communication system interface  308 , and the memory  310  are communicatively coupled to a communication bus  312 , thereby providing connectivity between the above-described components. In alternative embodiments of the weather radar information system  100 , the above-described components may be communicatively coupled to each other in a different manner. For example, one or more of the above-described components may be directly coupled to the processing system  304 , or may be coupled to the processor system  304  via intermediary components (not shown). Further, additional components (not shown) may be included in alternative embodiments of the ground-based weather radar information system  100 . 
     The processing system  304  may be any suitable processor or device. The processing system  304 , in an exemplary embodiment, may be a commercially available processor. Examples of commercially available processors include, but are not limited to, a Pentium microprocessor from Intel Corporation, Power PC microprocessor, SPARC processor, PA-RISC processor or 68000 series microprocessor. In other embodiments, the processing system  304  may be a mainframe type processor system. The processing system  304  may be a specially designed and fabricated processor, or may be part of a multi-purpose processing system. 
     The exemplary memory  310  stores a radar information processing module  314 , an optional aircraft information processing module  316 , a supplemental weather radar information database  318 , and an optional supplemental information database  320 . Modules  314 ,  316  are retrieved and executed by the processing system  304 . In alternative embodiments, the modules  314 ,  316  may be implemented together as a common module, may be integrated into other modules, or reside in other memories (not shown). 
     The memory  310  may be any suitable memory device or system. Depending upon the embodiment, the memory  310  may be a dedicated memory system, may be part of another component or system, and/or may be a distributed memory system. The memory  310  may also include other logic, modules and/or databases not illustrated or described herein. 
     The communication system interface  302  is configured to communicatively couple to a corresponding communication system interface  322  at each of the plurality of ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i . In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the communication system interface  302  is communicatively coupled to respective ones of the communication system interfaces  322 , via communication system  324 . 
     The communication system  324  is illustrated as a generic communication system. In one embodiment, the communication system  324  comprises the Internet. Accordingly, the communication system interfaces  302 ,  322  are suitable modems or Internet connection devices. Alternatively, the communication system  324  may be a telephony system, a radio frequency (RF) wireless system, a microwave communication system, a fiber optics system, an intranet system, a local access network (LAN) system, an Ethernet system, a cable system, a radio frequency system, a cellular system, an infrared system, a satellite system, or a hybrid system comprised of multiple types of communication media. Additionally, embodiments of the communication system  324  may employ various types of communication technologies, such as but not limited to, digital subscriber loop (DSL), X.25, Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). Also, the communication system  324  may be employed on combination systems having a plurality of segments which employ different formats for each segment employing different technologies on each segment. Accordingly, the ground-based weather radar information may be communicated and/or provided to the weather radar information system  100  using any suitable format or media. Further, the communication system interface  302  may be configured to communicate to the plurality of ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i  using a plurality of different communication systems, formats and/or technologies. 
     The aircraft communication system interface  308  is configured to communicatively couple to a corresponding communication interface residing in an aircraft  104 . In an exemplary embodiment, the aircraft communication system interface  308  includes a radio frequency (RF) or other suitable wireless signal transmitter. Alternatively, or additionally, the aircraft communication system interface  308  may remotely reside at another location such that the supplemental weather radar information is communicated from the ground-based weather radar information system  100  to the remotely located aircraft communication system interface  308  via an intermediary communication system, such as, but not limited to, the communication system  324 . 
     In an exemplary application, the aircraft communication system interface  308  supports bidirectional communications between the weather radar information system  100  and the aircraft  104 . For example, the weather radar information system  100  may provide supplemental weather radar information to the aircraft  104  in response to a request transmitted from the aircraft  104 . The received request may include information pertaining to characteristics of the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar such that the supplemental weather radar information may be processed in accordance with the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar characteristics. 
     Alternatively, or additionally, the aircraft communication system interface  308  may broadcast the supplemental weather radar information to the aircraft  104  that is in reception range of the aircraft communication system interface  308 . Thus, as the aircraft  104  comes within reception range of the broadcasted supplemental weather radar information, the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar system can receive and process the received supplemental weather radar information. 
     Alternatively, or additionally, the aircraft communication system interface  308  may be communicatively coupled to an intermediary communication system (not shown), and/or may be communicatively coupled to the communication system  324 . For example, the aircraft may be able to establish a connection to the Internet while airborne. Here, the aircraft communication system interface  308  supports Internet-based communications with the aircraft  104 . 
     The radar information processing module  314  processes ground-based weather radar information received from the ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i , as described in greater detail hereinbelow. The processed supplemental weather radar information is stored into the supplemental weather radar information database  318 . 
     In some embodiments, an optional aircraft information processing module  316  processes information pertaining to the aircraft  104 . Such information may include the aircraft&#39;s current location, planned flight path  106 , heading, altitude, and/or velocity. This information may be received from the aircraft  104 , and/or may be received from another source. Thus, the weather radar information system  100  can selectively supply supplemental weather radar information to the aircraft  104  based on the aircraft information as described in greater detail hereinbelow. 
     In some embodiments, an optional supplemental information database  320  stores information of interest that is included with the supplemental weather radar information that is communicated to the aircraft  104 . Such supplemental information may include an identifier of the location of the weather radar information system  100 , various data formatting information, a time stamp (indicating that the time the supplemental weather radar information was communicated and/or the time that the supplemental weather radar information was collected), and/or information pertaining to terrain, airports, or the like. 
     The user interface  306  receives input from the an operator of the weather radar information system  100 . Accordingly, the operator may provide various management functions on the weather radar information system  100 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary process  400  of processing ground-based weather radar information received from a plurality of ground-based weather radar stations  102  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) as performed by the radar information processing module  314 . At block  402 , ground-based weather radar stations  102 , such as, but not limited to, a NEXRAD station, provides ground-based weather radar information that has been detected by its ground-based radar system  326  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     The ground-based weather radar information can be received from any number of ground-based weather radar stations  102  located within a predefined region. In one exemplary application, the predefined region is a country, such as the United States. Accordingly, all of the ground-based weather radar stations  102  in the United States provide their ground-based weather radar information to the weather radar information system  100 . The ground-based weather radar information system  100  processes the received ground-based weather radar information into supplemental weather radar information for the entire country. 
     In another application, the U.S. is subdivided into a plurality of sub regions. Those ground-based weather radar stations  102   a ,  102   b  located in a particular sub region provide their ground-based weather radar information to a regional weather radar information system  100 . In some instances, a ground-based weather radar station may be located near regional borders where its respective detection range  122  ( FIG. 1 ) extends into multiple regions. Such ground-based weather radar stations  102  send their ground-based weather radar information to the respective regional weather radar information systems  100 . 
     As noted at block  402 , the ground-based weather radar information may include reflectivity information, elevation information, azimuth information, and/or a time stamp. Additional information may also be included, such as information identifying the presence and/or nature of precipitation, and/or presence and/or nature of turbulence, and information pertaining to the particular ground-based weather radar station  102 . 
     At block  404 , the received ground-based weather radar information is converted into a latitude, longitude, and altitude format. For example, the received ground-based weather radar information may be provided by a ground-based weather radar station  102  using polar coordinates or the like. Based upon the polar coordinate location of the detected weather, and the known location of the ground-based weather radar station  102 , the location of weather detected by the ground-based weather radar station  102  can be referenced to earth-based latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates. Since the aircraft receiving the supplemental weather radar information from the weather radar information system  100  can determine its current location in terms of its earth-based latitude, longitude, and altitude, the aircraft  104  can reference received supplemental weather radar information (provided in a latitude, longitude, and altitude format) to its current location using its aircraft weather radar system. 
     Preferably, the supplemental weather radar information is determined for a three-dimensional (3-D) region of air space comprised of arrayed cells. An arrayed cell is referred to herein as a voxel. For example, but not limited to, the airspace may be predefined as regions of adjacent voxels each defined by its respective earth-based latitude, longitude, and altitude. Thus, the weather information received from the ground-based weather radar station  102 , which may be specified in polar coordinates referenced to the geographic location of the ground-based weather radar station  102 , may be processed into weather information that is associated to a respective voxel. Alternatively, the supplemental weather radar information is determined for a two-dimensional (2-D) surface region of the earth. For example, but not limited to, the airspace may be defined by its respective earth-based latitude and longitude. 
     At block  406 , the received ground-based weather radar information is optionally processed to define a figure of merit (FOM). The figure of merit characterizes the quality of the supplemental weather radar information. For example, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for received radar returns from weather may be used to determine a figure of merit. Some embodiments may alternatively, or additionally, use resolution and/or validity of the ground-based weather radar information to determine a figure of merit. As another example of a considered figure of merit factor, the range of the detected weather out from the ground-based weather radar station  102  may impact the accuracy of the location of the detected weather. Thus, weather that is relatively close to the detecting ground-based weather radar station  102  would have a higher figure of merit than farther out detected weather. Any suitable characteristic pertaining to the weather detected by the ground-based weather radar station  102  may be used to determine the figure of merit. In an alternative embodiment, the figure of merit is determined before conversion of the weather data into latitude, longitude, and altitude information. 
     At block  408 , the ground-based weather radar information that has been converted into latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates is stored as the supplemental weather radar information into the supplemental weather radar information database  318  for the predefined air space region comprising adjacent voxels defined by their respective latitude, longitude, and altitude. The weather information for each voxel includes reflectivity information, a time stamp corresponding to the time of detection, an optional figure of merit value, and other information of interest. For example, information indicating precipitation intensity, precipitation type, and/or turbulence may be optionally included. The supplemental weather radar information may be stored using any suitable database format. 
     In some instances, the respective detection ranges  122  of adjacent ground-based weather radar stations  102  overlap. Accordingly, two sets of ground-based weather radar information and/or supplemental weather radar information may be determinable for the same voxel when adjacent ground-based weather radar stations  102  provide weather information for the an overlapping region of space. An exemplary embodiment selects the weather information having the highest figure of merit for inclusion into the supplemental weather radar information database  318 . Another embodiment uses the most current information as the supplemental weather radar information. Yet another embodiment blends the overlapping ground-based weather radar information or the supplemental weather radar information to define a blended value of supplemental weather radar information. For example, blending may be based on the relative figure of merit value. Blending may be based on any suitable factor. 
     An exemplary embodiment, at block  410 , receives a request from the aircraft  104  for the supplemental weather radar information. The request may be received in any suitable format and/or over any suitable medium. The request for the supplemental weather radar information, in this exemplary embodiment, preferably includes location information (at least latitude and longitude) for the aircraft  104 . The request may optionally include information about the planned flight path  106  for the aircraft  104 . In some embodiments, the planned flight path  106 , current heading, and/or current velocity of the requesting aircraft  104  may be provided. 
     Based upon the location of the aircraft  104 , and optionally information about the planned flight path  106 , current aircraft heading, and/or current aircraft velocity, the weather radar information system  100  defines a geographic region of interest that is pertinent to the requesting aircraft  104 . Then, a data region of voxels can be identified which have supplemental weather radar information for the geographic region of interest for that particular aircraft  104 . The identified supplemental weather radar information (identified by voxel location) is retrieved from the supplemental weather radar information database  318 . 
     In one embodiment, a geographic region of interest may be one of a plurality of predefined geographic regions. The location of the requesting aircraft  104  is correlated with the boundaries of the predefined geographic regions to identify the geographic region of interest that the requesting aircraft  104  is currently in (or may be in the near term). Alternatively, flight characteristics of the aircraft, such as, but not limited to its planned flight path  106 , current heading, and/or current velocity, may be used to identify the predefined geographic region of interest. In yet other embodiments, the crew of the requesting aircraft may specify one or more predefined geographic regions of interest. 
     In some embodiments, a plurality of predefined geographic regions of interest may be selected. For example, information about the planned flight path  106 , and/or the current heading and current velocity of the requesting aircraft  104  may be used to identify a plurality of pertinent predefined geographic regions of interest that the aircraft  104  will likely traverse through. As another example, the crew of the aircraft  104  may be interested in learning about weather at their destination, and accordingly, one or more geographic regions of interest between the aircraft  104  and its destination may be identified. 
     At block  412 , an exemplary embodiment optionally quantizes the supplemental weather radar information for the identified geographic region(s) of interest to facilitate communication of the data to the requesting aircraft  104  at block  414 . For example, weather reflectivity information for a particular voxel may be represented by a relatively large bit word (having a relatively large number of significant bits therein). The relatively large number of significant bits is used to describe the weather reflectivity information with a relatively high degree of discrimination, resolution and/or granularity as detected by the ground-based weather radar station  102 . However, there may be no significant benefit in providing weather information of a very high degree of discrimination, resolution and/or granularity to the aircraft  104  since, when the weather information is presented on the aircraft&#39;s radar display, the weather information is shown using a limited number of colors and/or using a limited range of intensities that is represented using a relatively small bit word. For example, severe weather may only be shown a bright magenta color on the radar display which may be defined by a bit word that uses, for example, three or four bits. Thus, the supplemental weather radar information may be processed by the weather radar information system  100  into a bit word with fewer significant bits so as to reduce communication bandwidth and communication time requirements. (The receiving aircraft  104  may optionally further process the received supplemental weather radar information to satisfy the particular bit word format of its weather radar system.) 
     In an alternative embodiment, the processing of the supplemental weather radar information described in block  412  is performed as part of the process of block  408 . That is, the data is processed prior to, or as part of, generating the voxel-based supplemental weather radar information stored into the supplemental weather radar information database  318 . Thus, memory capacity required for storing the supplemental weather radar information database  318  may be minimized or better managed. On the other hand, if the requesting aircraft identifies its type of weather radar system and/or specifies a preferred data format, the weather radar information system  100  may process the supplemental weather radar information into an optimal format for that particular aircraft. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an embodiment of an aviation electronics system  502  of the aircraft  104  that is configured to receive, process and integrate supplemental weather radar information received from embodiments of the weather radar information system  100  with weather information that is collected by the aviation electronics system  502 . The exemplary aviation electronics system  502  includes a global positioning system (GPS)  504 , a transceiver  506 , an inertial measurement unit (IMU)  508 , a weather radar system  510 , a processing system  512 , a display system  514 , a memory  516 , a crew interface  518 , and an altimeter  520 . The weather radar system  510  includes an antenna  522  that is operable to emit radar signals and receive radar returns. The display system  514  includes a display  524 . It is appreciated that the aviation electronics system  502  may not include all of the above components, and/or may include other components and/or systems that are not illustrated or described herein. 
     The above-described components, in an exemplary embodiment, are communicatively coupled together via communication bus  526 . In alternative embodiments of the aviation electronics system  502 , the above-described components may be communicatively coupled to each other in a different manner. For example, one or more of the above-described components may be directly coupled to the processing system  512 , or may be coupled to the processing system  512  via intermediary components (not shown). 
     The weather radar system  510  may be any suitable radar system, such as, but not limited to, a weather radar that is operable to detect weather that is located relatively far away from the aircraft  104 . The antenna  522  is operable to emit radar pulses and to receive weather radar returns (from weather, such as the storm cells  110 ,  112 ,  114 ) and terrain radar returns (from terrain, such as the mountain range  118 ). 
     The GPS  504  determines the current location of the aircraft  104 . The altimeter  520  determines altitude of the aircraft. The altimeter  520  may determine altitude based on air pressure and/or radio signals received from sources having precise known elevations, such as an airport. The IMU  508  may also be used to determine the current location and/or altitude, or supplement determination of the current location and/or altitude, of the aircraft  104 . The information may be provided to embodiments of the ground-based weather radar information system  100  so that pertinent supplemental weather radar information may be provided to the aircraft  104 . 
     The crew interface  518  receives input from the crew of the aircraft  104 . Accordingly, the crew may optionally elect to view only radar information detected by the weather radar system  510 , may elect to view the ground-based supplemental weather radar information, or to view a combination of both. 
     Transceiver  506  is a communication device that is operable to receive the supplemental weather radar information provided by the ground-based weather radar information system  100 . Any suitable transceiver system or device may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver  506  is configured to establish an Internet connection while the aircraft  104  is in flight. Alternatively, or additionally, the transceiver  506  may be configured to communicate with the aircraft communication system interface  308  of the weather radar information system  100  ( FIG. 3 ) using a suitable wireless signal. Alternatively, or additionally, the transceiver may be configured to receive a broadcasted wireless signal having the supplemental weather radar information therein. The transceiver  506  may be configured for other communication functions. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the aviation electronics system  502  comprises a plurality of cooperatively acting modules. The modules are identified as a radar information processing module  528 , a ground-based weather radar information processing module  530 , a flight plan processing module  532 , and a weather information display module  534 . Modules  528 ,  530 ,  532 ,  534 , reside in the memory  516 , and are retrieved and executed by the processing system  512 . In other embodiments, the modules  528 ,  530 ,  532 ,  534 , may be implemented together as a common module, may be integrated into other modules, or reside in other memories (not shown). 
     In an exemplary embodiment, a weather information database  536  and an optional terrain information database  538  are stored in memory  516 . Preferably, the weather information database  536  includes 3-D weather information represented as voxels in a region of space about the aircraft  104 . Alternatively, or additionally, the weather information database  536  may include 2-D weather information. The optional terrain information database  538  includes location information and elevation information of terrain over which the aircraft  104  is traversing. Alternatively, the weather information database  536  and/or the terrain information database  538  may be implemented with other databases, may be implemented in various formats, such as a buffer or the like, and/or may be implemented in another memory. 
     The radar information processing module  528  processes radar returns detected by the antenna  522  of the radar system  510  into weather information. Weather radar returns may be associated with various types of weather. The radar information processing module  528  may determine the type of detected weather, and their associated attributes such as location, vertical extent, and/or severity. The determined weather information is saved into corresponding bins (2-D) or voxels (3-D) in the weather information database  536 . 
     The ground-based weather radar information processing module  530  is configured to process the received supplemental weather radar information to determine the location and extent of weather detected by the plurality of ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i . The location and extent of the weather detected by the ground-based weather radar stations  102   a - 102   i  is determined with respect to the current location of the aircraft  104 . The processed ground-based weather radar information may be saved into the corresponding bins (2-D) or voxels (3-D) in the weather information database  536 , and/or saved into another suitable memory or buffer. 
     The weather information display module  534  accesses the weather information stored in the weather information database  536  and constructs a displayable image corresponding to a graphical presentation of the local weather information. The weather information in the weather information database  536  includes weather detected by the weather radar system  510  and the received supplemental weather radar information. The displayable image of the weather information is communicated to the display system  514  and is presented on the display  524 . The displayable image, in some embodiments, is in the form of bit map data. 
     In some situations, the onboard weather radar system  510  may have difficulties distinguishing between valid weather radar returns and terrain radar returns, or in regions near the effective detection range  116  of the onboard weather radar system  510 . Accordingly, the presence (or absence) of weather identified in the ground-based supplemental weather radar information may be incorporated into the displayed weather information. An exemplary embodiment compares a radar return from the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar system  510  with the supplemental weather radar information received from the ground-based weather radar information system  100 . Then, the aviation electronics system  502  determines which weather information to display. For example, if the detected weather is within the effective detection range  116  of the onboard weather radar system  510 , then weather information from the onboard weather radar system  510  is used to generate a radar display. On the other hand, if the weather is beyond the effective detection range  116  of the onboard weather radar system  510 , then the supplemental weather radar information will be used to generate the radar display. 
     The received supplemental weather radar information may encompass the region of airspace that correspond to the effective detection range  116  of the weather radar system  510  of the aircraft  104 . This supplemental weather radar information in such regions of airspace may be ignored, or may be blended, or may otherwise be incorporated into the displayed weather. For example, the crew of the aircraft may choose to initially incorporate the overlapping weather information, and then later choose to omit the supplemental weather radar information in the region of airspace that corresponds to the effective detection range  116  of the weather radar system  510  of the aircraft  104 . 
     The optional flight plan processing module  532  processes flight plan information, which corresponds to the illustrated planned flight path  106  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Information corresponding to the planned flight path  106  may be provided by the flight plan processing module  532  and communicated to the weather radar information system  100  so that supplemental weather radar information pertinent to the planned flight path  106  can be communicated to the aircraft  104 . Alternatively, or additionally, information pertaining to the planned flight path  106  may be used to selectively process the received supplemental weather radar information. That is, supplemental weather radar information of interest can be identified and processed, thereby avoiding the need to process all of the received supplemental weather radar information. 
       FIG. 6  is weather radar display image  602  of the planned flight path through the plurality of storm cells  110 ,  112 ,  114  based upon the aircraft&#39;s onboard weather radar system  510  and information provided by the ground-based weather radar stations  102 . Similar to  FIG. 1 , reference numerals of the icons of  FIG. 6  correspond to the reference numerals of  FIG. 1 . 
     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.