A Supplemental High-Resolution Radar Network for Building Resilient Rural Communities

The US government’s NEXRAD network was put into place several decades ago and radars were sited near densely populated cities, thereby leaving voids in radar observations closer to the ground in many rural communities. Making these communities resilient to severe weather requires new investments in weather radar infrastructure to provide forecasters the much needed low-altitude observations to aid them in issuing actionable watches and warnings to assist public safety personnel in these small communities.

With the advancements in radar and communication technologies, a rapidly growing commercial radar enterprise, the private sector is ready and able to step in and design, build, and operate a supplemental weather radar network. To provide improved coverage of the lower levels of the atmosphere, including in the complex terrain of the Western United States, Climavision is installing a fleet of 200+ high resolution X-band polarimetric radars throughout the country. This presentation will provide an overview and status of the fleet, planned installations throughout the United States, as well as examples demonstrating the enhanced spatiotemporal resolution benefits in several geographic areas. The presentation will also cover the work being done to engage rural emergency management agencies, local and federal government, and broadcast meteorologists to ensure the successful public-private collaboration needed to build a weather ready nation.