CHICKASHA - Oklahoma gained another tool Thursday for tracking tornadoes when a new type of radar was hoisted to its perch high above the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma campus.

The radar, part of what is known as a distributed collaborative adaptive sensing radar network, searches the lower atmosphere for weather activity, mapping storms, winds, rain, temperature and other phenomena in tandem with other nearby radar sites, said Kelvin Droegemeier, a regents professor at the University of Oklahoma.

Droegemeier served as emcee for a brief ceremony on the USAO campus before the domed radar was lifted to the top of a tower that once supported televised distance-learning classes.

Droegemeier said the new radar is expected to enable forecasters to provide more timely tornado warnings and help reduce what he called "false alarms" that plague the industry.

"What it is going to mean is that we are going to speed up tornado warnings and get the false-alarm rate down to maybe 15 to 20 percent," Droegemeier said. "Right now, it's at 75 (percent), and that's a lot. Three out of every four warnings are false alarms."

The Chickasha location is one of four in Oklahoma's southwestern quadrant where test units have been deployed to assess the radar's effectiveness.

Other radar sites are near Rush Springs, Cyril and Lawton.

The new radar should begin collecting data in four to six weeks, said Droegemeier, who also is deputy director of the center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere, the organization that deployed the innovative technology.

An obvious benefit of the new radar will be the ability of professionals such as Steven Chapman, emergency manager for Chickasha, to alert and prepare the city's residents for approaching storms.

"It will help us make knowledgeable decisions that will save lives," Chapman said.

"And that's what it's all about."

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For further inquiries contact Stephanie Callaway.

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