Congressman Moore’s bill aims to fill Charlotte’s radar gap

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A North Carolina Congressman told Queen City News that he is one step closer to closing Charlotte’s weather radar gap.

U.S. Rep. Tim Moore’s Radar Gap Elimination Act will now be part of a larger, routine weather safety funding bill, which he argued will increase the chances of passage.

Currently, Charlotte finds itself in the middle of a National Weather Service radar gap, with the nearest facilities in Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, and Raleigh.

“We’re kind of stuck in this whole, so speak of you know, maybe not quite as detailed radar coverage when it comes to tracking storms and seeing what’s inside the storm,” said Queen City News Chief Meteorologist Tara Lane.

Lane added that the gap does not put our area in danger, but proposed upgrades would make a major difference. Radar at CLT currently fills in where NWS cannot.

“It means when we’re tracking severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, we could actually see more of you know the signature of twisting in the atmosphere, what may be going on inside the storm. That may show, okay, a tornado is actually touching down,” said Lane.

Congressman Moore said that last week, a House Committee added language from the bill he authored to the Weather Reauthorization Act. The addition will provide funding to replace aging radar technology and deploy new radar systems where there is a gap, like Charlotte.

“This is generally something that passes pretty easily, so hopefully we’re talking a month or two,” said Moore.

Moore told Chief Political Correspondent Andy Weber that he is confident the bill can pass both chambers and that in the Senate, North Carolina’s delegation agrees the gap needs to be addressed.