Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER - A bit of U.S. history descended on North Webster and part of the Midwest Friday.
With the lowering of a three-ton fiberglass dome over a 112-foot tower, federal and local officials celebrated the first phase of construction of the new regional Doppler radar system.
Under a bright sun and the watchful view of Joe Friday, director of the National Weather Service, the fiberglass dome was lowered and locked into place, covering a radar valued at $4 million that will fill in the final gap in coverage of the entire continental United States.
The radar station is located north of North Webster and will serve 24 counties in Indiana along with five counties in southern Michigan and eight in northwest Ohio.
"It is the envy of every nation and provides us to do things for the American public that's never been possible," Friday said.
Arrival of the radar marks the official end of efforts to improve severe weather radar coverage, which had been lacking.
"Mark Twain once said everybody talks about the weather and nobody does anything about it. Well, we did something about it," said Congressman Tim Roemer, D-South Bend, who was among the dignitaries attending the dedication.
The celebration was especially fitting for Friday, who for the first time in his 16-year career with the weather service witnessed the assembling of a dome to a radar tower.
On Monday he takes on a new challenge when he assumes his duties as director of research for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Ironically, he helped develop the newest in technology weather radar surveillance and will now begin working on the next generation of technology.
"I really view it in that fashion. I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish in the weather system to date," Friday said.
"This cream-of-the-crop system is indeed the best in the world. We're now able to predict a tornado with a 10-minute lead time. That may not sound like much, but it's much better than the minus two minutes we had about 12 years ago," he said.
The weather station will eventually employ 28 people with a combined annual salary of more than $1 million.
By March 1998, the facility will be commissioned and begin providing warnings and short-term forecasts. The facility is expected to assume a full range of forecast and warning operations by November 1998.
The radar is the 164th in a series and was delayed after initial plans to place it at Grissom Air Force Base were nixed when the base was closed. During the past two years the weather service found itself in the middle of a public debate as area communities and lawmakers argued over where the radar should be placed.
Friday jokingly referred to the lawmakers as a "pain in the butt," but commended them for their efforts.
If the Grissom plan had moved forward, the radar service would have been operational by now, he said.
Roemer optimistically pointed to the eventual bipartisan support for the project.
Roemer also made a quip about the dome, which looks like a huge soccer ball. He drew a connection with his alma mater, Notre Dame.
"South Bend has always had the most notable dome in the world, the golden dome with Our Lady on it. We now have the second most notable dome in the United States with the best weather technology in the world inside it."
Representatives for Sen. Dan Coats and Reps. Mark Souder and Steve Buyer also attended the meeting and offered words of congratulations on the project.
