Sending signals
New radar station for the Four Corners to break ground in 2023

The T’s have been crossed and the I’s dotted – La Plata County will finally break ground on a long-awaited radar station in early 2023.

La Plata County Manager Chuck Stevens said the contract for the new weather station, along with a notice to proceed, was signed last week, marking a huge moment in the decades-long effort for radar in the region.

“We are thrilled and excited,” Stevens said. “It’s been a long time coming, and we know the community is anxious to get this project started and completed.”

Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners are considered one of the most significant black holes for radar in the country. Simply put: existing weather stations cannot track storms in this region.

For decades, efforts to build a weather station have hit dead ends. That all changed, however, in 2019 after the State of Colorado awarded La Plata County $1.7 million to take the lead on the project.

There were still a few bumps in the road, though. Over the past few years, local officials have debated where to actually put the radar system, a balancing act of finding a spot with the most coverage that’s also financially feasible.

Though not exactly in complete consensus (what is these days?), La Plata County announced in early 2022 the final selection for the site – the Durango-La Plata County Airport. Now, the construction crew is on board and set break ground.

“We can’t wait to get this project started and get this service online,” Stevens said.

Under the radar

So how did the Four Corners end up a blind spot for radar – also known as a “black hole” in the weather world – in the first place?

Radar works at its best when it scans as close to the ground as possible. The West, along with its varied topography of mountains, valleys and canyons (all the reasons we move here), creates a major challenge for finding a good spot for stations.

As a result, nearby hubs in Albuquerque, Flagstaff and Grand Junction take in data at too high of an elevation to track storms in the Four Corners. The Grand Junction station, for instance, can’t follow storms below 28,000 feet. In the San Juan Mountains, it’s not uncommon for storms to develop around 14,000 feet.

Not being able to forecast storms puts residents at risk, Stevens said. This vulnerability became all too apparent in the wake of the 416 Fire in 2018, when intense storms on the burn scar caused destructive flooding and damage. That event, it turns out, gave the community leverage for funding.

Too good to be true

Once funding was secured, the search was on to find the best suitable location. Much has been reported on the differing opinions of where to put the radar station, so we’ll only briefly touch on it here.

Essentially, about a dozen sites in the region were evaluated, taking into account things like coverage area, road access, existing infrastructure and land ownership. By far, the site with the best coverage of the entire region was on a peak known as Bridge Timber Mountain, south of Durango (the ridge between La Posta Road and Breen). From the top, at about 8,300 feet, officials said one can see 125 miles in every direction.

The problem, however, was the site completely lacked infrastructure. Millions would have to be spent installing a power line, improving road access and working with landowners. Proponents of Bridge Timber Mountain argued that despite the complications, the site would benefit the largest area, and therefore could draw more partnerships and funding.

Ultimately, though, La Plata County landed on the Durango-La Plata County Airport, which sits at about 6,685 feet, about 15 miles southeast of Durango. Kenneth Howard, program manager and research meteorologist for the National Severe Storms Laboratory Center, has said previously there wasn’t too significant of a drop-off in coverage between the two sites.

 “The airport is going to be the best location when you take into account all the factors,” Howard said. “This is going to be a benefit for everyone.”

Boots on the ground

After the site was finalized, La Plata County put out a request for proposals to companies interested in building the station, which generated three bids, Stevens said. Technical advisers with NOAA and county staff screened each proposal, evaluating factors like price, technical details and construction timeline.

Ultimately, La Plata County selected an Alabama-based company called Baron Weather, Stevens said. Baron Weather did not return a request for comment on this story.

“It was just a solid bid, end to end,” Stevens said.

The new radar station will be constructed at the corner of the cell phone waiting lot and will be outfitted with C-band weather radar technology, which we’ll leave weather nerds to Google.

Once installed, Stevens said the radar will be able to track storms with 3D modeling north to the La Plata Mountains and to the southwest, where a lot of storms in the region originate.

“This is a good compromise,” he said. “Yes, there are other mountain tops with a 360 degree view, but they didn’t have access to power or were on private property, among other considerations. This emerged as the best of all worlds.”

All together now

The goal is for the new radar station to be fully online and operational by March 2024. But, of course, with all the current challenges with supply chain issues, skilled labor and construction costs, that date could be pushed back, Stevens said.

A condition in the contract, Stevens said, is for the project not to exceed $2.5 million. As stated above, the State of Colorado, through the Department of Local Affairs, is funding the majority of the project with a $1.7 million grant. That grant expires in 2024, but Stevens said an extension could be requested if there are delays.

La Plata County will cover the rest of the project, around $800,000, said county spokesman Ted Holteen.

As for ongoing costs, the goal is to set up a partnership group where involved parties put in funds every year. The setup is similar to San Luis Valley, where a new radar station was constructed in 2018.

Paul Wolyn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said the new radar station has allowed forecasters to better track localized storms in the San Luis Valley. The new tool has been especially useful, Wolyn said, in monitoring conditions around the San Luis Valley Regional Airport in Alamosa.

“Obviously, knowing where storms are on the radar helps us,” Wolyn said. “It’s definitely a benefit in tracking smaller storms blocked by the mountains.”

Here in La Plata County, the partnership plans to save around $30,000 to $40,000 a year for any maintenance needs.

“We haven’t gone out and asked people to be partners yet; they are asking us, saying they want to be partners,” Stevens said. “That’s because this is going to be a benefit to the region and extend well beyond the boundaries of La Plata County.”