Trump signs weather bill to help forecasting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Donald Trump just signed a bill focused on safety during severe weather, which is important to Channel 9, which has invested in the only live weather radar in the region.

Charlotte is the largest metropolitan area in the country without its own National Weather Service radar.

The closest government radar is in Greer, South Carolina, 90 miles from Charlotte.

A radar signal goes in a straight line and when the curvature of the earth is factored in, the national radar shoots over our area.

As a result, it can’t detect most of the severe weather that is close to the ground.

Channel 9 invested in Early Warning Doppler 9 to give viewers an accurate picture of severe storms in the area.

Trump signed the bill Wednesday that requires the federal government to study radar gaps like the one in Charlotte.

“If the government decides to build a radar here, it could take years, and cost taxpayers between $10 and $20 million,” Channel 9 meteorologist Vicki Graf said.

Only the National Weather Service can issue an official watch or warning so without a local radar, they may miss warning on local storms.

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