Weather intelligence specialist Baron Weather has been chosen by La Plata County, Colorado, to provide a new weather radar system and tower at Durango-La Plata County Airport.
The installation will include a new C-band dual polarization weather radar and 70ft (21m) radar tower, as well as radar display and analysis system, providing residents of the Four Corners in La Plata County with more accurate weather forecasts, particularly for winter weather, flooding and thunderstorms.
Part of the high Colorado Plateau, the Four Corners region experiences numerous weather systems, organizing on the plateau and then proceeding eastward through Colorado and into the central USA. According to Baron, the Earth’s curvature and obstruction from the mountains mean that the closest radar in Grand Junction is unable to accurately detect precipitation in the region.
Jon Tarleton, Baron vice president of integrated weather systems, said that the new radar is filling a hole in the National Weather Service’s (NWS) coverage: “The Baron radar will have the same capabilities that the NWS radars are equipped with. They have really chosen the best option for their community.”
Chuck Stevens, La Plata county manager, said, “La Plata County conducted an extensive search process for our new weather radar system and selected Baron based on their professional reputation. We have been extremely impressed by their level of service and technical solutions and we have complete confidence in their ability to complete the project on time and on budget.”
Other benefits for the county include helping emergency management crews to plan for critical, weather-related emergencies; assisting in the emergency management department’s operations planning; providing higher quality inputs for hydrologic modeling and the improvement of water management; and helping the Department of Transportation’s snow removal, airport snow removal, and avalanche forecasting.