New weather radar ‘could save lives’, researchers at UGA and Georgia Tech say

Keeping a watchful eye on severe weather across north Georgia just got a little easier. That’s according to Dr. Marshall Shepherd and John Trostel, two of the top researchers at the University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology. The two helped secure funding to purchase a new weather radar system.

In an interview Wednesday, Shepherd and Trostel said they believe the new system will help save lives across north Georgia in the event of severe weather. 

"It is a game changer because it allows us to add to the ability to monitor severe weather rainfall and so forth in Georgia," Shepherd said. 

Shepherd, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at UGA, said it won’t replace the National Weather Service’s radar system, which covers a larger area and gives more of a "big picture" look at what’s happening during severe weather events.

"Oftentimes, some of the most severe aspects of weather are not the big picture things…it’s the small-scale wind event or perhaps the circulation that will end up being a tornado on the ground," he explained.

Trostel, director of the Severe Storms Research Center at Georgia Tech, said the new radar will fill long-known "gaps" in the National Weather Service’s coverage. That includes the area near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and further north near Gainesville where a deadly tornado struck in March 1998.

"The governor set up a task force to examine the aftermath of the Gainesville tornado that occurred and actually killed 12 people, and one of the problems was a lack of radar coverage in North Georgia," he said

Shepherd and Trostel said the National Weather Service will have full access to data from their radar. They also shared that the purchase of this new tool will creates new learning opportunity for students.

"The additional information from this radar and the knowledge we gain from future research will enable better prediction we hope and better risk assessment for Georgians," Shepherd added.

The radar is currently in Smyrna at the GTRI building still being tested to identify a location that would best serve those areas needing additional coverage. From there, it will likely be moved to a location in Gwinnett County.