Hazard and target alerting for weather radar

A weather radar system comprising:

• memory configured to store radar return information in a three-dimensional buffer;
• a processor coupled to the memory, the processor comprising:
• a first component configured to determine if any radar return information stored in a three-dimensional buffer is within a threshold distance from an aircraft's present position;
• a second component configured to generate an image based on target data stored in the three-dimensional buffer and selected display parameters;
• and
• a third component configured to generate a target alert if any target data is determined to be within a threshold distance from the aircraft's present position and is not included in the generated image;
• and
• an output device configured to present the generated target alert.

A weather radar computer program product comprising:

• a first component configured to store radar return information in a threedimensional buffer;
• a second component configured to determine if any radar return information stored in a three-dimensional buffer is within a threshold distance from an aircraft's present position;
• a third component configured to generate an image based on target data stored in the three-dimensional buffer and selected display parameters;
• and
• a fourth component configured to generate a target alert if any target data is determined to be within a threshold distance from the aircraft's present position and is not included in the generated image.