1. The Status of the Weather Radar Acquisition for the Washington Coast May 13, Cliff Mass Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington

2. YOU KNOW THE PROBLEM!
Radar coverage for the lowest beam (.5 degree elevation angle) for the current network. Red areas indicate no coverage below 8000 m (25,000 ft). Radar coverage calculations by
Ken Westrick

3. There Has Been Lots of Movement on the Acquisition and Installation of the New Coastal Radar

4. The Location is Decided: Langley Hill
3 miles east of Copalis Beach, a coastal town.
On a 250 ft wooded hill.

9. On March 18th a lease for the land was signed;  days later construction was initiated

10. The Concrete Base for the Tower is In!

11. The ID will be KGLX

12. KGLX is also a Gallup, NM Country Music Station

13. What Will The Radar See?

14. Coverage at 2000, 4000 and 10,000 ft above the radar site.

15. Coverage Analysis by UW’s Dr. Socorro Medina

16. Beam blockage at 0.0° elevation angle for different radar locations (using ~1 km resolution terrain and a 30 m tower)

17. Beam blockage at 0.5° elevation angle for different radar locations (using ~1 km resolution terrain and a 30 m tower)

18. Beam blockage at 1.0° elevation angle for different radar locations (using ~1 km resolution terrain and a 30 m tower)

19. Beam blockage at 1.5° elevation angle for different radar locations (using ~1 km resolution terrain and a 30 m tower)

20. Beam blockage at 2.0° elevation angle for different radar locations (using ~1 km resolution terrain and a 30 m tower)

21. We Got A Taste of the Value of a Coastal Weather Radar During the IMPROVE Field Program in January-February 2001

22. Westport S-Pol Radar (January-February 2001)

24. Reflectivity from S-Pol radar at Westport 0031 UTC 2 Feb 2001 at 0
Reflectivity from S-Pol radar at Westport UTC 2 Feb 2001 at 0.5 degree elevation
dBZ

25. It will be a used radar!

26. Why? There was enough money for new!
A used WSR-88D radar (same as the rest of the network) was available from the Air Force.
The WSR-88Ds have been modernized over the years.
The NWS was nervous about maintaining a different radar
The Langley Hill radar would be refurbished and updated before installation

27. After Refurbishing

28. The First (and ONLY) National Weather Service Radar With A Zero-Degree Elevation Angle

29. Distance-Height Diagram for Zero Degree and Standard 88-D Elevation Angles
Note the absence of low-level coverage of the standard .5 degree elevation angle at greater distances (more than 100 km out). The zero degree angle provides a major improvement in coverage at long ranges in the critical lower atmosphere.

30. One of the first dual-polarized NWS radars in the U.S.

31. Advantages of Polarized Radars
Can use to determine precipitation type.
Can be used to determine more accurate precipitation intensity.
Far better in securing precipitation intensity in complex terrain when there is partial beam blockage.

34. Schedule The tower should be up during June.
Strong assurances by NWS folks that the radar would be operational by the end of THIS September!
This will be a neutral ENSO year with the potential for big storms.

35. Acknowledgments

36. Senator Maria Cantwell: played crucial role in gaining resources for the radar

37. Plus The Active Lobbying By a Long List of Regional Meteorologists, Businesses, Local Governments, Environmental Groups, and Others.

38. The End

39. The right diagram indicates the effective coverage of the
Weather Service radars for all elevation angles at 10,000 ft above mean sea level, with hatching indicating
substantial blockage.