B737-800
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
ATC Issue All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General Declared Emergency
Weather; Procedure; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings
B737-800 checked on my frequency after take off climbing to 10;000 FT on a ZZZZZ departure. North departures were 10 miles in trail to the Center's airspace and being vectored due to weather over the other normally used fixes. B737-800 on initial call asked if the speed restriction could be deleted. I replied that he was RADAR contact and negative on deleting the speed. Prior to ZZZZY I assigned B737-800 250 KTS until advised due to the 10 miles in trail. When B737-800 approached the Victor airway; I instructed him to turn left heading 360 to avoid the weather over ZZZZZ; he advised that he wished to stay on his routing. My concern was had I left him go directly to ZZZZZ he would want to deviate farther east and enter the area where the northeast arrivals were. The pilot was not following my instructions and at one point said he was declaring an emergency. I asked if he wished to return to ZZZ and he replied negative that he wanted to continue heading 030 towards the arrival corridor. After several more transmissions back and forth between B737-800 and myself; he finally accepted the 360 heading but advised that I had taken him through heavy precipitation. At the time my RADAR display was showing light to moderate precipitation to the west of where I was vectoring the north departures and moderate to heavy precipitation to the east of ZZZYY over the ZZZZZ area. My display was not showing any precipitation on the Victor airway in the area that I vectored this and the preceding departures. I was shown a Falcon replay shortly after the event and the area that I was vectoring the departures through was showing weather that was NOT displayed on my RADAR scope. Recommendation; find out why my display was not showing the same weather that the pilot was seeing and that the Falcon replay was showing.
Tracon Controller described an unsafe event when issuing departure vectors that reportedly resulted in an air carrier traversing heavy precipitation. The Controller indicated a 'Falcon' replay displayed different weather that the operational display revealed at the time.