tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post8845968431832083072..comments2024-03-28T03:08:44.068-07:00Comments on Cliff Mass Weather Blog: The Eastern Washington Radar Gap: An Acute Need for Fireweather, Flood Forecasting, and AgricultureCliff Mass Weather Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-86602966034397662462015-09-15T19:11:35.509-07:002015-09-15T19:11:35.509-07:00Considering air and ground transportation needs, w...Considering air and ground transportation needs, wouldn't those also be user groups that could advocate for better coverage? Thinking rail service, civilian aircraft, and trucking companies.RideSlow2004https://www.blogger.com/profile/03763209601426292868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-74150063580795986652015-09-07T01:30:40.911-07:002015-09-07T01:30:40.911-07:00Cliff, in a perfect world, Okanogan County would h...Cliff, in a perfect world, Okanogan County would have radar coverage, but such coverage is not free. The whole central coast of Oregon lacks coverage, and with the number of storms that pummel them fresh off the Pacific each year, they really need to have priority on the next installation.herrbrahmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08308204686231352936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-29843079164204336952015-09-06T12:33:10.022-07:002015-09-06T12:33:10.022-07:00David- In addition to the initial 10-year duratio...David- In addition to the initial 10-year duration Engineering Research Center award given to CASA (which drew to a close nearly three years ago), several smaller follow-on National Science Foundation awards have been made to this group. These have focused on a combination of further engineering and interface improvements aimed at better defining and meeting societal needs in the more urban Dallas-Fort Worth urban testbed environment. (By contrast, CASA's initial US-based deployment was in a far less populous agricultural setting in southwest Oklahoma.) More importantly, the North Central Texas Council of Governments--which encompasses both the major urban areas of DFW as well as surrounding smaller communities--has brought increased local funding needed to install and operate additional "nodes".<br /><br />I'm sorry that I cannot quote the per-node capital investment/installation expenses at present; as quoted several years ago, these were ca. $500k/unit for each compact scanning X-band systems. Current operating expenses for the seven-node north-Texas network are estimated at $600k/yr, but the per-node price drops appreciably for more expansive deployments. By contrast, at last check (and I caution that this estimate is likely outdated) the per-unit cost of NOAA's proposed MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) system were estimated to be as high as $11.5M per copy. While far fewer of these large electronically-scanning rapid refresh units would be required to fully replace the existing WSR-88D system, this approach would sacrifice availability of high-resolution radar imagery at the lowest atmospheric levels where societal needs and impacts are largest.Brad Smullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17710244584264515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-63057363527165400652015-09-05T14:56:49.366-07:002015-09-05T14:56:49.366-07:00So helpful for us SW WA coastal types when Langle...So helpful for us SW WA coastal types when Langley Hill went in. As a former cranberry farmer, I attest to the precision of modern radar and its ability to give you gaps to work in and around squalls, etc. Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02966239019084744306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-64359517413962020282015-09-04T17:18:16.729-07:002015-09-04T17:18:16.729-07:00Brad: Quite an interesting project! I watched the ...Brad: Quite an interesting project! I watched the videos and found the UMass site; are they still operating on the initial $10M NSF grant? What would it take to deploy this on a larger scale?David Cuthberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09877408767778945901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-3166468263196570572015-09-04T14:23:58.171-07:002015-09-04T14:23:58.171-07:00200,000 people live in the three small counties th...200,000 people live in the three small counties that make up Central Oregon (Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook) so I disagree with "hardly anyone lives there" comment. But you'd be right for all the rest of Eastern Oregon! Very low population density...Mark NelsenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-83304648139438874012015-09-04T11:16:39.882-07:002015-09-04T11:16:39.882-07:00In response to David Cuthbert's comment, such ...In response to David Cuthbert's comment, such a prototype network of "community-owned" radars is currently operating and under evaluation in north-central Texas. It is known as CASA-WX, and is a highly innovative networked collaborative-adaptive multi-node system whose initial development was supported by taxpayer-funded grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) . More info is available at: http://www.nctcog.org/ep/Special_Projects/CASAWX/Brad Smullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17710244584264515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-69707715876072081532015-09-04T10:57:49.438-07:002015-09-04T10:57:49.438-07:00Looking at the map, I wonder why eastern Oregon is...Looking at the map, I wonder why eastern Oregon is left out of the mix. Sure, I know "they" are not "us", but we all share fire fighters and Oregon is producing some really nice wines lately, too. And 4 senators is better than 2.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703540801833479965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-35281541475177618252015-09-04T10:02:21.017-07:002015-09-04T10:02:21.017-07:00I wonder -- will we ever see personal Doppler weat...I wonder -- will we ever see personal Doppler weather radar installations, in the same way we see personal weather stations? A development like this might help fill in the gaps and lower the cost of (parts of) the technology. Given the relatively smaller size, I could see X and K band dishes becoming practical here.<br /><br />What might not be practical: FCC licensing. Since these are outside of the ISM bands and -- I'm guessing -- operate at a higher power than what ISM normally allows, each installation might need to be FCC licensed.David Cuthberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09877408767778945901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-40364334271943077452015-09-04T05:47:31.402-07:002015-09-04T05:47:31.402-07:00I think when the blog said "radar beams that ...I think when the blog said "radar beams that slope upwards away from the radars.", that it meant "radar beams that slope upwards away from the ground?" perhaps??Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17928857173447510142noreply@blogger.com