County enters public-private partnership to improve weather radar coverage, monitoring of severe weather
A weather-watching partnership may make Lee County safer as storms approach.
Lee County on Tuesday entered into a public-private partnership that officials say will help fill in the gap in National Weather Service radar coverage in Lee County and allow improved monitoring of severe weather.
The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a site license agreement that authorizes Kentucky-based Climavision to install weather radar equipment on the roof of Lee County’s recently opened Public Safety Center.
“This public-private partnership will fill a known gap in radar coverage for the National Weather Service and will improve access to data and the ability to predict and forecast severe weather in the region,” officials said.
Lee County sits in a gap between weather radars located in Tampa, Key West, Miami and Melbourne. This gap means that the National Weather Service cannot see certain weather phenomena below 6,000 feet, including waterspouts and tornadoes. This issue was illustrated in a 2020 report – “Gaps in NEXRAD Radar Coverage” – from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Climavision will reimburse the county $27,813 for the cost of constructing the platform and will pay $2,400 annually for the estimated cost of electricity consumed by its equipment. The initial term of the agreement is for three years, with a three-year renewal period. In lieu of base rent under the agreement, Climavision will share weather data with Lee County at no cost.
Climavision has an agreement with the National Weather Service to provide data from these devices to their Weather Forecast Offices. The systems are integrated to allow rapid access to the data during weather emergencies. This X-Band weather radar is a proprietary system that covers 60 miles from the radar site and is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
The county has constructed a platform on the roof of the Public Safety Center to support Climavision’s weather radar tower and equipment. The county’s Public Safety Center officially opened in May; it’s a 36,873 square-foot, $38.5 million two-story addition to the Emergency Operations Center.
During blue-sky normal operations, the expanded building now houses Public Safety Administration, Emergency Medical Services, and the new Emergency Communications Center, with space for Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Communications, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Communications and the Lee County Department of Transportation’s Traffic Operations Center. Lee County Emergency Management remains in its existing location.
“When activated for an emergency such as a hurricane, the Public Safety Center will be staffed with key personnel from first-responder agencies, emergency relief organizations, county departments, municipalities, utility companies and other essential agencies,” officials said.
Source: Lee County