PORT ANGELES — A new radar system in Grays Harbor County will help forecasters better predict the severity of winter storms as they approach the North Olympic Peninsula, the National Weather Service said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will roll out the state’s first coastal Doppler radar system in September 2011 — a year ahead of schedule.
NOAA identified an Air Force radar at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi that is no longer needed for military training.
The radar will be upgraded to track the weather 125 miles from a yet-to-be-announced site near Grays Harbor.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who has championed the coastal radar system for years, secured a $2 million down payment for the radar system in 2009.
An additional $7 million was included in the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Cantwell said the coastal radar will lead to more accurate forecasts for the Pacific Northwest.
“Although Washington bears the brunt of wintertime Pacific storms, our weather radar coverage has been shockingly inadequate, putting lives and property at risk,” said Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, in a statement.
“By acquiring this new radar technology and positioning the system west of the Cascades, Washingtonians can better prepare for the impact of the big Pacific storms on businesses and homes. I am thrilled we can do this a year ahead of schedule.”
The Olympic Mountains form a blockade that prevents Seattle-area radar from detecting the severity of storms bearing down on the coast.
Existing radar can track precipitation in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but it can’t detect low-level weather along the coast because of the mountains and the curvature of the earth.
“The costal radar will help reduce that elevation angle issue,” said Ted Buehner, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Buehner said the state-of-the-art, dual polarization radar system will show the intensity, perception and snow levels of a storm before it arrives on the Pacific Coast.
“That will help with regard to the short-term forecast,” Buehner said.
Buehner noted that the 125-mile radius will cover such West End towns as Forks, LaPush, Neah Bay and Clallam Bay-Sekiu, as well as giving foreecasters a better view of what’s coming for the whole Peninsula.
“It will be a significant piece to the weather observation puzzle along the Washington coast, as well as offshore,” Buehner said.
The dual polarization technology provides can scan weather horizontally and vertically, enabling forecasters to better predict the type, intensity, and duration of precipitation.
The National Weather Service will announce the finalists for the radar site in late June.
Buehner said the radar will likely be placed on the north side of Grays Harbor itself, perhaps Pacific Beach.
Buehner described the lack of coastal radar as an “Achilles heel” for forecasters who, until next year, have not been able to “see real well on the other side of the Olympics.”
“The excitement is clearly there,” he said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.