Oregon Public Broadcasting

Remember the news last week about the president signing a 2009 budget bill larded with more than 8000 Congressional earmarks?  Well, one of those spending provisos could result in better weather forecasts and warnings for Northwest residents and businesses.  Correspondent Tom Banse explains.

Weather forecaster and scientist Cliff Mass of the University of Washington says it’s just not right.  The Pacific Northwest has the stormiest coastline of the continental U.S., yet there’s no National Weather Service Doppler radar on our coast.

Cliff Mass: “It gives us the ability to look into the storms.  To see inside.  To see the structures.  And that’s something we can’t do now.”

That’s because the Coast Range and Olympic Mountains block the Seattle, Portland, and Medford radars from getting a good look at incoming storms. 

So Mass is thrilled that Washington Senator Maria Cantwell won an earmark for $2 million in this year’s federal budget.  It’s for a weather service coastal radar station. 

However, Mass says the total cost will probably approach $6 million.

Cliff Mass: “I think that this money gives us momentum.”

Mass says the first coastal radar should be centrally located near Grays Harbor, Washington.  He’d like to see another near Florence, Oregon eventually.

Online:

Prof. Cliff Mass’ coastal radar website