Radar stations in Bethune and Radisson, Sask., not providing weather data to the public
Bethune station recovering from October 2017 storm, new radar in Radisson undergoing testing
Weather bugs in Saskatchewan may have noticed that the Bethune and Radisson, Sask., radar sites have not been outputting data lately.
The reasons behind each station's missing data are different. Though the Radisson radar station is out because of its upgrade, the Bethune radar station is still trying to recover from Saskatchewan's inclement weather.
Radar is used by forecasters to track precipitation as it falls. It can give you a sense of where that precipitation is falling, what type of precipitation you are dealing with and how a storm is moving.
The Bethune radar station has not been operational since the wind storm that rolled through Saskatchewan on Oct. 17 and 18, 2017. During that storm, wind gusts reached almost 120 km/h in Regina, which is just 60 km to the southeast of Bethune.
That storm damaged the radar station, leaving it dark for the past three months.
"Those [winds] caused damage to the radome of the radar, the covering which protects the equipment inside" said John Paul Cragg, a meteorologist at Environment Canada. "It looked a little bit like the Star Wars Death Star — one of the sections was caved in where the heaviest wind had hit."
Cragg says that nearby stations in Alberta, Manitoba and the United States help cover southern Saskatchewan, but there is a hole with the missing Bethune station data.
"We do our best as forecasters — just try to fill in the information. Satellite pictures and surface observations do help to fill in those pictures and give us the ability to still create accurate forecasts."
Cragg believes that the Bethune radar should be operational again for forecasters and the public by the end of January.
Upgraded Radisson radar undergoing testing
Environment Canada has installed new, state-of-the-art radar near Radisson to replace aging equipment. That site is the first in Canada to receive this upgrade.
The old Radisson radar equipment was up and running during the construction phase of the new radar. Eventually during construction, the old radar was shut down for safety reasons.
The new radar is now operational, but it is undergoing testing. That means that meteorologists within Environment Canada can access the data to build forecasts, but the images will not be available to the public until March.
According to Cragg, this new technology will offer better and extended Doppler coverage, and will also allow forecasters to see the radar images much quicker. That will help in forecasting severe summer weather.
The upgrade also includes dual polarization radar. This gives forecasters a clearer image of what the precipitation that is falling looks like, be it snow, freezing rain or rain.
Cragg says the decision to replace this radar in the winter months is no coincidence.
"A decision was made to change out the radar at a time where it would be through the winter and not affect the coverage during the summer. Radar is important at all times in the year, but those radars are really important in the Prairies during summer severe weather."
The remaining radar stations in Canada will receive an upgrade within the next five years.
The Bethune station is expected to be upgraded in 2019.