010917 Radar and Sounding Operation Status

The radar operated continuously without problems.  Convective activity again
increased over night (after 03Z) and produced heavy rain at the ship
intermittenly from 05-10Z.  Convective echo tops were generally less 
than 10 km,
although individual cells occasionally punched above 12-13 km for short periods
(< 10-20 minutes).  Stratiform rain continued in the vicinity of the ship until
about 13Z after which echo coverage and intensity began to decrease.  A number
of outflow boundaries were visible in animation throughout the day.

The 12Z and 16Z sounding terminated just below 500 mb, presumably due to icing
of the balloon and/or sensors.  The 08Z launch was not attempted due to heavy
rain at the ship.