In this MetPy Monday tutorial, John Leeman from NSF Unidata demonstrates how to work with NEXRAD Level II radar data in Python and create a reflectivity plot from raw radar volume data. This episode focuses on taking Level II radar data, extracting a radar sweep, working with azimuth and range coordinates, and plotting reflectivity on a map using Python tools like MetPy, Matplotlib, and Cartopy.

Unlike Level III radar products, Level II data contains more detailed radar volume information, which gives you more flexibility but also requires a little more processing before plotting. In this tutorial, you will see how to read Level II radar data, pull out the reflectivity field, convert radar-native coordinates into geographic coordinates, and display the result with a radar reflectivity color table.

The example plot shows storms from the April 20, 2023 severe weather case, using reflectivity data over Oklahoma and nearby areas. The final map includes radar reflectivity, state outlines, a color bar in dBZ, and a timestamp, creating a useful workflow for radar case studies, research graphics, and severe weather analysis.