Climavision, Emergency Managers Extend Partnership on Gap-closing Radar
LOUISVILLE, KY and WENDELL, MN– A year-long partnership between multiple Minnesota Emergency Managers and Louisville-based Climavision has changed the way Minnesotans see dangerous weather across the state. And now that partnership will continue.
Since the 1990s, the National Weather Service (NWS) has monitored developing weather across Minnesota with government radars located near Duluth, Minneapolis, and cities in neighboring states. Those radars provide excellent surveillance over the urban centers, but they leave many parts of rural Minnesota – where a full quarter of the state’s people live – without low altitude coverage.
The public-private partnership, which began last year, has provided Emergency Management Directors in almost a third of Minnesota’s counties with critical real time weather data in an area that currently has limited low-altitude radar coverage.
Tina Lindquist, Emergency Management Director for Pope County, works with a group within the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers (AMEM) that is focused on the challenge of radar coverage gaps. This issue was included as one of AMEM’s priorities because it provides another tool in the toolbox for first responder safety and supports NWS partners. She says the supplemental radar has changed the way her team responds to threatening weather, and provides enhanced safety for her crews in the field.
“Our storm spotters are volunteering their own time and resources to help protect our community, but in the past we weren’t always able to see what they were headed into,”
Lindquist said. “The Wendell radar gives us a view of approaching storms we’ve never had before, so we can keep our spotters out of harm’s way and serve the public better as well.”
The new level of information is also available to those who warn the public directly. Thanks to a contract between NOAA’s National Mesonet Program and Climavision, the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks has access to the Wendell radar as well. NWS forecasters can use the data as they make decisions about issuing watches and warnings, such as a recent “snow squall warning” which the office had rarely issued previously.
The partnership with emergency managers will extend into 2025 and will now include Climavision’s recently upgraded user interface which incorporated feedback from county partners and users in the field. The new updates make the radar data much more accessible to users at all levels of expertise – especially spotters who may be headed into a storm.
“Seeing our technology make a difference in people’s lives is the most gratifying part of what we do, so we’re thrilled to keep this partnership going,” said Tara Leigh Goode, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Radar Operations for Climavision. “At the same time, we’re working with emergency managers to build a coalition of state leaders so we can expand this technology to fill all remaining gaps in the state.”
Members of the media can download a map showing the coverage area of the Wendell radar and the participating counties, as well as photos and video, here: Minnesota Media Kit. Attribute all assets to Climavision.
About Climavision
Climavision brings together the power of a proprietary, high resolution supplemental weather radar network with its cutting-edge Horizon AI forecasting technology suite to close significant weather observation gaps and drastically improve forecast speed and accuracy. Climavision’s revolutionary approach to climate technology is poised to help reduce the economic risks of volatile weather on companies, governments, and communities alike. Climavision is backed by The Rise Fund, the world’s largest global impact platform committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns. The company is headquartered in Louisville, KY, with research and development in Raleigh, NC and AI forecasting operations in Ft. Colins, CO. To learn more, visit www.Climavision.com.
Media contacts:
Bill Shory
Fleur de Lis Communications
502.974.4332
