Meteorologist-turned-lawmaker advocates for life-saving supplemental weather radar
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The severe weather season is just around the corner, with thunderstorms and tornadoes possible in Minnesota during March.
The National Weather Service has a network of weather radar across the region to track storms like these, but there are eight places in Minnesota in atmospheric blind spots.
A Minnesota meteorologist-turned-lawmaker is hoping to eliminate those gaps. DFL state Sen. Robert Kupec, who represents the region including Moorhead and Detroit Lakes, joined Cathy Wurzer on Tuesday’s Morning Edition to explain why he thinks the state should invest more than $3 million over the next two fiscal years in the project.
What causes these radar gaps?
Put simply, it’s a physics problem.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
When a Doppler beam leaves a static radar site, it travels in a straight line. But since the Earth is curved, as that beam moves further and further away, it rises in elevation, leaving gaps for low-level weather events, including tornadoes, snow squalls and snow showers.
“So once we get into places all around Alexandria, up through Bemidji, it's hard to see what's actually going on on the ground there,” Kupec explained.
Why are the radar gaps a problem?
Nearly 2.5 million Minnesotans live in a low-level weather radar gap, according to the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers. The group says tribal nations, rural areas and other vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected.
Prior to Kupec’s time at the Capitol, the first-term lawmaker was a TV meteorologist in Fargo for 20 years and bore witness to a “litany of storms.”
“Bemidji seems like they’ve taken it on the chin for years,” Kupec reflected. “I remember a tornado in Park Rapids, a warning came out, and there was nothing on the radar.”
That’s led to deadly consequences. For instance, in May of 2022, Blomkest firefighter Ryan Erickson was killed in the line of duty in Kandiyohi County; a grain bin was lifted by strong winds and crushed his vehicle. He was on weather watch in a radar gap.
Kopec said gaps to the west can lead to surprise, strong storms popping up on Twin Cities radar, too.
One of the eight needed gap-filling weather radars has been online since 2023 in Wendell, Minn. It “has already been used to help alert snow squall warnings that likely saved lives and help inform daily response operations,” the emergency managers said.
Kupec’s appropriations bill asks for $1.27 million in fiscal year 2026 for five gaps and about $2 million in fiscal year 2027 to help fill out the rest. Radar data will be shared with the National Weather Service, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the departments of agriculture and transportation.
Why partner with a private company?
The newest radar in Wendell is operated by Louisville-based Climavision in a public-private partnership. It’s responsible for the radar construction and maintenance, then shares the data like a subscription with local agencies, NOAA and the National Weather Service.
Kupec explained that the cost was “astronomical” for the NWS to shore up supplemental radar and this approach would save money for Minnesota.
“This is something the Weather Service knows about, but they’ve just never allocated the resources ever to it. And they basically told states, look, if, you know, if you want to do this, we’d really appreciate it, but it’s kind of up to you,” he said.
Climavision estimates $62 million in property damage in Minnesota due to severe weather between 2022-2023. Climavision says it is working nationwide to provide about 200 supplemental weather radars. It plans to install four more radars in Minnesota this year. Those will be in Beltrami, Crow Wing, Faribault and Kandiyohi counties.
Kupec said, should the bill pass, the state will put out a request for bids for the additional radars.
The budget forecast is gloomy. Why spend on radar now?
Minnesota’s most recent budget forecast was grimmer than expected and doesn’t leave much money for additional spending in the next two years. Kupec, though, isn’t deterred.
“I’m not naive about this,” he said. “Some of our duties, even in times when budgets are tight, as lawmakers, is to bring good ideas to the table… in terms of a public safety issue, I think this is a pretty good idea.”
The bill was laid over Monday for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.