Work Begins At Site Of New Coastal Doppler Station

Crews have begun clearing land near Hoquiam where a long-sought coastal Doppler radar station will be installed.

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News South Sound Bureau Chief Richard Thompson made the trek to the site Friday, hiking about a half-mile up a logging road to get to the spot on Langley Hill.

A marker showed where the radar tower will go, filling a blind spot in the region's current radar coverage from a single tower on Camano Island.

"By having the Doppler radar on the coast, we're going to be able to see 200 miles offshore," said KIRO 7 chief meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson. "We're going to get better lead times for storms coming in."

Stevenson said the new radar will provide earlier warning for powerful storms like the deadly one that hit in December 2007. The storm brought high winds that knocked down trees and knocked out power. It also packed heavy rains that triggered widespread, destructive flooding.

The new coastal radar will also feature what's called dual polarization technology, giving meteorologists a view of both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of oncoming storms. Stevenson said meteorologists will be better able to tell what kind of precipitation is coming inland -- and how much.

"We do anticipate saving lives and property, and saving millions of dollars' worth of damage because we're going to be able to estimate the type of storm and the strength of storm moving on shore. We were not able to that as accurately and precisely before," she said.

If everything goes according to schedule, the proposed radar tower could be up and operational in September.

Previous Stories: March 17, 2011: Progress Made On New Doppler Radar Site October 14, 2010: New Doppler To Give Better View Of Oncoming Storms