Doppler deal signed, giving forecasters access to critical Arizona radar site

PHOENIX (AZFamily) —Four years after it was installed, an agreement has been signed, linking weather information from a radar site in rural Arizona to weather forecasters to better detect dust storms forming in a critical area.

The X-Band Doppler radar is located near Picacho Peak and was installed as part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s dust detection system. The $6.5 million system is comprised of the radar, freeway sensors, and programmable speed limit signs.

ADOT told Arizona’s Family Investigates that the dust detection system’s freeway sensors and programmable speed limit signs have been working and were triggered dozens of times to alert motorists. However, Arizona’s Family learned that the Doppler radar was not being used to its full potential. Data was not being shared with the National Weather Service, which issues critical weather alerts during severe weather, including dust storms.

ADOT said the deal to share the information from the radar site to the National Weather Service had been mired in bureaucracy. But that changed when an agreement was signed on Thursday.

“It’s functioning, and the data comes to us. We know it’s coming in. We’re not meteorologists, but it is serviced. It’s ready to go,” Steve Elliott, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation, told Arizona’s Family in June.

According to ADOT documents, news releases, and articles published between 2016 and 2021, data from the X-band Doppler radar system was intended to go to the National Weather Service, where meteorologists would share it with ADOT traffic and emergency managers. However, sharing the data between two different government agencies—one state and one federal— was more complicated than previously thought.

After our initial report, U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Phoenix) wrote to Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service “to urge the National Weather Service to expedite the intergovernmental agreement for the X-band Doppler radar system located on Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona.” It states, “...data from this radar is not transmitting to the National Weather Service (NWS), where meteorologists would share warnings with traffic and emergency managers.”

The radar site is located where dust storms can pop up with little or no warning, reducing visibility in a matter of moments. Between 2010 and 2015, 83 dust-storm-related crashes occurred in that area, three of which involved fatalities. The radar site also fills a coverage gap located between the two primary National Weather Service Radar sites in Tucson and Phoenix.

“It was a life-saving measure, and unfortunately, it did get caught up in bureaucratic snafus, delays, etc. And so I think it just needed a little bit of real attention from someone,” Rep. Stanton told Arizona’s Family Investigative Reporter Morgan Loew.

Stanton said when he spoke to Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service and Phoenix native, he understood the importance of the radar site.

“He understands personally, how these dust storms and haboobs can be deadly on I-10 and other major thoroughfares,” Stanton said. “Frankly, he was apologetic about the long delays, the unfortunate long delays, and we got the job done. So that’s good news for the people of Arizona.”

ADOT said in a statement the agreement between the two agencies was finalized and signed on Thursday afternoon. “We will be working through technical details with the National Weather Service as quickly as possible. ADOT is excited to move forward with utilizing this equipment to provide weather data to the National Weather Service,” a spokesperson said on Friday.

The agreement says the National Weather Service will be able to receive and evaluate raw data from the X-Band radar site and the agency has discretion whether to incorporate the data into publicly released products. The agreement says the two agencies will meet after one year and evaluate the system’s value in issuing storm warnings and advisories that may impact the ADOT freeway system.

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