
Figure 9. Example of sidelobe contamination. A strong reflectivity gradient results in side lobes interacting with a target while the main lobe does not. The top right graphic is a real-world example from May 4, 2003. The core of reflectivity with this supercell has values greater than 70 dBZ, which produces a three-body scatter spike down radial (south of core), but also results in side lobe contamination in the azimuthal (to the west of the core) direction.
.