COPALIS BEACH, Wash. - Northwesters will now have a more accurate picture of storms rolling in from the Pacific Ocean. A new Doppler radar station is operating on the central Washington coast near Grays Harbor. Dignitaries and weather forecasters gathered there for a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday. Backers of the new Doppler radar station say it will help save lives and property by improving storm forecasts. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell helped secure $9 million in federal funding to build it.
Maria Cantwell: "Our country has been so rocked by storms lately. America wants better information so they can prepare. And today we're ushering that in here in Grays Harbor."
Meteorologists say the new coastal tower eliminates a blind spot in radar coverage. All the government’s existing weather radars are inland. Their view of oncoming weather is partially blocked by terrain, such as the Olympic Mountains or Oregon’s Coast Range.
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
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