After waiting four years, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) finally received the Polarimetric Doppler – a weather radar that was awarded to ULM back in 2012.
A $3 million grant helped ULM receive the radar. ULM is the only primarily undergraduate institution in the nation to have this radar.
“With this radar we are able to bridge the gap between Shreveport, including Monroe, spanning to southeast Arkansas,” said Collin Landry, a junior atmospheric science major and president of AMS.
The radar will help get a grasp on severe weather such as tornados. It will also give a better visual on lower level tornado rotations.
Previously, meteorologists could only detect higher-level tornado rotations, which ultimately made it challenging to measure the severity of wind speeds.
Landry said they will now know how the area will be affected by a tornado instead of being blind-sided like the Monroe tornado storm of 2014.
The radar will be used for educational purposes as well, Landry said. In the spring of 2018, students taking the radar class that is offered every other spring semester will be trained on how to use the “unique” equipment.
Landry said the radar will be streamed on the third floor of Hanna Hall once it is fully operational. There will also be a new radar lab available for atmospheric science students.
