COASTAL DOPPLER IN HAND, AWAITING LANGLEY HILL PERMITS

A Doppler Weather Radar could be active on the Washington coast by the beginning of the fall. The National Weather Service says they have the slightly used but refurbished radar in hand and by September it could finally allow meteorologists to have a clear view of approaching storms like the one that knocked power out to over 30,000 in Grays Harbor in 2007 and grounded the ship New Carissa on the Oregon coast in 1997. The site for the radar will be Langley Hill, between Copalis Beach and Copalis crossing in Grays Harbor, from which the radar will able to see the heavy precipitation on the windward side of the Olympics and over the Willapa Hills. The National Weather Service is close to signing the final paperwork for leasing that site. In addition, the radar will be one of the first utilize dual polarization, using a vertical and horizontal orientation to better predict the type, size and strength of precipitation.