A critical radar for the area is back online after relocation
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - One of our critical area radars is back online after being down for months as it was relocated.
The radar was previously in Slidell, called KLIX. It was moved to Hammond to provide better coverage for Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas which historically had poor coverage.
The radar is part of the Next-Generation Weather Radar network (NEXRAD) which covers the US and its territories.
Over the last several years the radars have been undergoing upgrades to improve their performance with some moved to improve coverage like ours. The process for the radar began at the end of last year.
Radars work by sending out a beam in a straight line. Due to the Earth’s curve, the farther away a location is from the radar, the higher the beam reaches in the atmosphere.
Storms mainly occur in the lower parts of the atmosphere so having a lower radar beam is optimal for storm coverage.
The lowest angle of elevation for the radar before the move from Slidell was 0.5 degrees. The move to Hammond changed the elevation to be 0.3 degrees. This leads to an improvement of 4,000 to 6,000 vertical feet for areas like Baton Rouge.
Radar Tilt Coverage(WVUE)This is good news for these areas which previously had lower coverage because a lower radar beam provides a better view of the lower atmosphere.
The Hammond radar is situated farther from southern Mississippi than Slidell, but there is a radar located in Mobile, KMOB, that continues to provide the best coverage for the coastal areas.
The new radar location in Hammond will fill the gap well between the surrounding radars in our region allowing forecasters a better view of our area.
The letters for the new radar are KHDC if you are looking for it in your radar app.
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