SEATTLE -- More than 100 people attended a forum in Seattle Thursday about the need for a coastal Doppler radar system that will better show storms approaching from the Pacific.

KIRO 7 Chief Meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson, the only television weather person in attendance, gave this PowerPoint presentation to officials attending the meeting hosted by Senator Maria Cantwell at NOAA's Regional Center at Sandpoint.

SLIDESHOW: Rebecca Stevenson Attends Coastal Doppler Forum

Stevenson said the coastal radar "could improve our forecasts and bring you warnings and information about storms that are more detailed and with more warning time."

"Our coastal communities would be better protected and you as a viewer would obtain more complete information about incoming storms," Stevenson wrote in her KIROTV.com blog.

VIDEO: Coastal Doppler Forum

President Obama's budget proposal includes $7 million for the project, but the show of public support could boost chances Congress will pass it.

VIDEO: Coastal Radar Would Eliminate Weather Blind Spot, Stevenson Says

The general consensus on the panel was that the new coastal radar is likely as soon as 2011, said KIRO 7's Bob Branom.

A NOAA report on coastal radar concludes that "service deficiencies exist across the radar gap regions in … western Washington." See complete report

"Additional radar coverage below 10,000 feet likely could improve public safety and reduce negative economic consequences from hazardous weather through improved real-time analysis and prediction," the report said.

VIDEO: Why We Need Coastal Doppler

Local meteorologist Cliff Mass said the Pacific Northwest has the "worst local weather radar coverage in the lower 48 states."