CLARKSDALE, Mississippi — Last November, Climavision, a radar and weather data company installed a radar in the town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. This private radar now adds to the two existing public radars in Memphis, one at the airport, and the other at the National Weather Service.
Radars like the one used by the NWS send out beams of energy that reflect off of storms. Storm features like tornadoes and downdrafts are picked up at the bottom of these storms. That’s where the issue arises. The Earth is curved, meaning the further the storm is, the higher that beam is, to the point where some of the most impactful weather can be missed.
Climavision’s solution is to add smaller radars to fill these “gaps” in coverage.
Chris Goode is the CEO of Climavision and says that this radar along with the almost 200 planned to go up are expected to help forecasters see storms better across the country.
“These low levels are what I’d refer to as “blind spots." So, by filling those, we can be a lot more accurate in relaying information about what is currently happening, but we can also use that information to inform weather models.”
Goode said the goal is to almost double the 24 radars they currently have that are operating in the next year alone.
Climavision said they are partnering with the National Weather Service, and this is going to be the first severe season that this radar data is going to be available to the National Weather Service to warn about storms in the Mid-South. This should increase the amount of warning time ahead of the strongest of weather.