How this new weather radar in Exeter will mean better tracking of dangerous storms

Viewed from across a frozen field, the new weather radar tower near Exeter, Ont., looks like a massive golf ball fused to a pillar of iron five storeys tall. 

And though the site on Thames Road looks similar to the one it replaced in August, Environment Canada meteorologist Gerald Cheng says it comes with significant upgrades. The new equipment will mean more accurate and up-to-the minute forecasts for everyone who lives inside a coverage blanket that extends from Windsor to the Bruce Peninsula to the Niagara region. 

"It's certainly a tool that's well worth the investment," said Cheng Tuesday.

And it's quite an investment.

The Exeter site cost $4 million and is part of a $107-million plan by the federal government to upgrade its coast-to-coast network of 31 other weather radar sites. 

Each radar site feeds up-to-the-minute data to Environment Canada's weather radar website and its many clients. 

Cheng says the Exeter tower has life-saving potential in southwestern Ontario, a region known for sweltering summers that bring thunderstorms — and the occasional tornado —  and frequent snow dumps over the long, icy winter. 

The upgrades of the new system include: 

• More frequent data uploads The new system sends data every six minutes; the last one reported at 10-minute intervals. "That's important in terms of lead time when issuing warnings," said Cheng.
   
• Longer range  The older radar sites had a radius of 120 kilometres, the new ones are double that. The signal is also stronger and able to penetrate patches of heavy rain much better than the previous system.
   
• Fewer shut downs for maintenance  Cheng said the new system only needs two maintenance shut downs per year under regular conditions. The older sites required six. 
   
• Dual polarization  We're wading into weather nerd territory here, but, essentially, this means more detailed weather data because it sends signal waves in two orientations, both vertical and horizontal. "It's able to tell us the shape of precipitation that's falling," said Cheng. "So it's able to distinguish between a snowflake, versus rain drops, versus hail. That is tremendous for us."

The new radar sites can also distinguish between real weather and "non-meteorological echoes." In plain language, this means weather watchers can tell if they're looking at a snow squall or a flock of starlings. 

To Cheng it all adds up to better storm tracking and faster alerts when dangerous weather rolls in. That matters in a region where a 2011 tornado in nearby Goderich killed one person, injured 40 others and caused $100 million in property damage.

"This system is able to detect much farther in terms of wind directions, which is key to letting us know if thunderstorms are dangerous and if they are capable of producing tornadoes," he said. 

Reporters were allowed to tour the new Exeter weather radar site on Tuesday.

It was originally billed as a chance to see inside the sphere that protects the radar equipment.

As it turned out, weather got in the way. The iron steps and railings were ice-encrusted and too dangerous to climb.

More evidence of the need for the revamped radar said Cheng, who points out that weather data touches multiple industries, everything from construction to aviation. 

"Even school boards, they rely on this to know if school buses have to be cancelled," he said. "We just lived through an ice storm here a few days ago, so this is vitally important. That's why everyone at the weather office is excited by this new radar." 

Working at a replacement rate of seven radar sites a year, Environment Canada plans to have the entire system fully upgraded — in the style of the Exeter installation — by 2023.