That distance allows more time to issue warnings as severe weather develops. "We're going from 120 kilometres with our Doppler to 240 kilometres," says Hoffman. #NETWORK RADAR REVIEW UPGRADE#With this upgrade project, most of the nation is seeing expanded coverage, with the new radar sites seeing approaching severe weather from further out than before. "It can help us all that much more to make these decisions and timely forecasts or warnings." Expanded coverage "It's like going from black-and-white television to colour," says Hoffman. According to Hoffman, that means meteorologists can see more clearly in and around those storms. It allows for better-forecasted precipitation amounts.Īnd when large storms are directly overhead, dual-pol is less likely than Doppler to be muffled by heavy precipitation. That gives forecasters the ability to see if precipitation is snow or rain and whether there is hail. The most recent round of improvements will effectively double the Doppler range.ĭual-pol radar goes a step further, measuring storms more accurately and more frequently, with scans happening every six minutes as opposed to 10.Īccording to Hoffman, dual-pol provides more information on the size, shape and distribution of storms. Doppler radar measures movement within storms as well, which helps with seeing rotation that can indicate severe weather like tornadoes. (Matt Melnyk)Ĭanada's weather radar network last received major upgrades In the late '90s, when the system was updated to Doppler radar. Radar is integral for forecasting thunderstoms, like this one in central Alberta in 2018. It works by sending out electromagnetic pulses that will hit and reflect off of precipitation, effectively showing where it is currently raining or snowing. Weather radar shows precipitation in real-time, allowing meteorologists to better warn for flooding, hail and other severe events. Doppler and dual-pol: What's the difference? Radar is one of the key tools among many used by meteorologists to forecast severe storms. That increase has been felt by many in western Canada, with flooding events that devastated British Columbia in November 2021, severe storms causing flooding in Calgary and Saskatoon this past summer, and the record hail in southern Alberta in August. Studies also show that large hail events could also become more frequent. Active weather and climate changeĪccording to a report by Environment and Climate Change Canada, "extreme weather presents the most immediate climate risk for the Prairie provinces, as is evident from the catastrophic events that have taken place over the last decade."Īn overall increase in temperatures allows summer storms to hold more water, which means that in the future, high precipitation events are more likely. The Fort McMurray site is the only new radar installation. Canada's radar network will now consist of 33 sites across the country, with the entire network upgrade slated to be complete by March 2023. The new site near Fort McMurray now means radar information extends to Fort Chipewyan, Alta., 300 kilometres north, and out to Buffalo Narrows, Sask., about 275 kilometres to the southeast. The project began in 2017, with the upgrade of the site at Radisson, Sask., 65 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. The most recent round of improvements will effectively double the severe-weather detection range. "So we are totally and completely expanding radar coverage over northeastern Alberta, northwestern Saskatchewan."Īccording to Hoffman, the installation is part of a $140-million nationwide project to upgrade and replace the aging radar network with dual-polarization - often referred to as "dual-pol" - radar. "There was no pre-existing radar here," says Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. That's why Environment and Climate Change Canada's newest radar site near Fort McMurray, Alta., which officially came online in late September, is seen as such an important piece in the weather and climate jigsaw puzzle. As our climate continues to change, accurately tracking severe weather is critical.
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