Weather radar installed on Reno water tower | News

The technology Climavision provides is said to fill those gaps, according to the company’s website.

“The way we’re situated right now, any weather below 11,000 or 12,000 feet, we can’t see,” Police Chief Jeremy Massey told the council in February. “A lot of people, when they see the radar on their phones, think weather breaks up around Paris, but it doesn’t — the radar can’t see it.”

In an interview with TV Tech, Climavision CEO Chris Goode said a lot of bad weather, including tornados, rain and snow, can happen below that height.

“The idea here is to essentially fill those holes and provide a TV station with the means to warn their viewers when tornadoes or other severe weather is coming,” he said.

Massey said the radar provides 60 additional miles of radar coverage, noting the closest radars prior to Friday’s installation were in Fort Worth and Texarkana.

The radar is to operate independently from the water tower, connecting to a nearby shed that will serve as a workstation, according to City Attorney David Hamilton.

He explained the agreement to council members earlier this year, noting issues he had with the contract.

“I suggested that the term of the lease be reduced from 20 to 10 years,” Hamilton said in February. “They did that, because as technology advances, 10 years may be the life of that radar. So, at the end of two years, we’ll have the option to redo it or get rid of it.”

Hamilton said the only caveat is that the radar is not available for private purposes.

“This is for Reno PD, the Sheriff’s Office or somebody else to help inform citizens and get the alert out,” he said.

Councilman Brandon Thomas was the lone opposition to the agreement, arguing that the City should receive compensation for allowing Climavision to install equipment on public property.

“If our citizens own that water tower, they paid for that water tower, if our citizens don’t get anything out of it, then why are we doing it?” he asked.

City officials disagreed.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Reno Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chad Graves told the council earlier this year. “The situational awareness that was lacking Nov. 4 when the tornado went through the western side of the county, it could make a difference.”