BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's weather is unpredictable. The Treasure Valley alone can see sweltering heat, powerful thunderstorms, and frigid snowstorms.
Tracking the weather is vital to the safety of many Idahoans, and the National Weather Service's (NWS) Doppler radar is a key tool used by NWS and the Idaho News 6 weather team to keep tabs on the forecast.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the technology that powers the Doppler radar
“This is a very powerful radar, and it’s our main tool that we use in the National Weather Service to analyze the atmosphere to look for those types of storms and to issue warnings when we see this type of weather approaching people and communities,” said Jay Breidenbach, coordination meteorologist with NWS.
The towering radar, standing 200 feet high, can scan a diameter of 600 miles from its center just south of the Boise airport.
Installed in 1993, it has provided vital data in the Treasure Valley for nearly 30 years.
Gathering this information is important for a number of safety reasons, especially when outdoor activities and events are as popular as they are in Idaho.
“Think about how critical that would be at, say, a Boise State football game. Not knowing that there's a thunderstorm on the way with lightning and exposing all the people at that event to severe weather,” explained Breidenbach.
This is also important to us here on the Idaho News 6 weather team. Chief Meteorologist Scott Dorval, Sophia Cruz, and I lean on this radar to help you stay ahead of Idaho weather.
“Without the Doppler radar, we’d basically be blind when it comes to where the rain showers are because there's no other way to detect them except for this ground-based radar," said Scott Dorval, Idaho News 6 Chief Meteorologist. "When that thing is sweeping around, we see exactly where those showers are. It can be right down to the street level, so every single time there's rain and we are tracking storms, it's always with the Doppler radar,” said Dorval.
