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As the state of Louisiana braces for yet another hurricane, the second significant storm in less than two months, they are facing this new weather threat without a critical piece of weather equipment; the Lake Charles National Weather Service (NWS) Doppler Radar.
On August 27th, just after midnight, the NWS radar was destroyed as Laura, a Category 4 hurricane, was making landfall near Cameron, Louisiana.
The loss of this valuable weather tool would cause issues on an average weather day but its loss could cause life-threatening issues with the area staring down another major hurricane, Delta.
What makes a radar such an important piece of equipment during a tropical weather event is not just tracking the storm itself, but seeing into the storm.
Radar can spotlight where heavy rain could cause flooding and is able to scan for possible isolated tornadoes, which can be yet another serious hazard during a landfalling tropical system.
To fill this gap in radar coverage during Hurricane Delta, NOAA has teamed up with the University of Oklahoma to use one of the school's mobile Dopplers to track this dangerous storm.
The university operates several of these mobile radar systems in cooperation with NOAA. As a matter of fact, two mobile Dopplers were deployed to track Hurricane Laura back in August.
Plans are in place to station the "Doppler on Wheels" near Lake Charles as Delta approaches the Gulf Coast on Friday.