The radar is called HORUS, like the Egyptian God of the Sky. It's the most advanced weather radar in the world, a feat that's been decades in the making.
Radar technology can be traced all the way back to the late 1800s. But it was after World War II that scientists realized that radars could see more than just planes. After that, the first operational weather radars were born. Today, the National Weather Service radars are called the WSR-88D and became operational in the early 90s.
There's one at every National Weather Service office in the country, so that's over 150 radars.
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ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith was able to meet one of the scientists responsible for part of the technology used in those radars, Dr. Dusan Zrnic.
"I was somewhat lucky to be at the right place at the right time," he recalls when doing his research.
Dr. Zrnic came up with a way to detect debris in severe storms. He now mentors students at the Advanced Radar Research Center, the minds behind HORUS. And HORUS is getting the attention of NOAA.
Danae Carlis is the Director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, also known as the weather radar lab for NOAA, and subsequently, the National Weather Service.
Carlis tells ABC13 that plans to replace the current weather service radars, which have been operating since the 90s, will be refined within the next five years.
"It is absolutely time that we figure out exactly where we're going in terms of weathering our network because the benefits to me are just huge," Carlis said. But more than that, he tells ABC13 that it can be difficult and expensive to get parts for existing radars that are now over 30 years old.
But with a radar like HORUS, a digital phased array radar, updates and upgrades can be more seamless and less expensive. Carlis gave an example, like going from a typewriter to a computer, or one software upgrade on an iPhone to the next.
"That's what we're really trying to do with respect to our radar technology," he said. And time will tell if a radar like HORUS could one day replace all the weather service radars, which could happen within the next 10 to 15 years.
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