During Tuesday night’s Board of Commission meeting, the  Columbia County Board of Commissioners voted to partner with climate tech company, Climavision, to  allow the installation of an X-Band weather radar in Columbia County. This will help fill a gap in weather  coverage in between neighboring NEXRAD S-Band radars. Columbia County, like many regions around  the U.S., relies on the National Weather Service NEXRAD weather radar network. While the U.S. has the  gold-standard of radar networks, there are still some low-level gaps in the region that the network doesn’t  cover completely due to the topography and the nature of weather radar technology. This leaves some  areas exposed to weather phenomena that often happens in the lower atmosphere such as flash flooding,  sleet, ice, and tornadoes.  

The dual-polarization, X-Band weather radar is designed specifically to fill these small gaps to  provide the highest resolution view of what’s happening on the ground. While all warnings and notices  will continue to come through official government channels, the system will provide critical visibility to  help better plan, prepare, and respond to volatile weather situations.  

“We’re very excited to provide a home for this system,” said Shawn Granato, Columbia County  EMA Director. “We know plugging this gap in information will help us continue our mission to keep our  community safe.”  

Climavision’s X-Band weather radar is a proprietary, solid state, low-powered system  manufactured in the United States. The system will be licensed by the FCC. Columbia County expects the  system to be operational within 12 months.