Weather Tower Review Sought

Renewing a debate that has raged for nearly a decade, Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long is asking for a federal review to determine if a controversial Ojai weather tower would be a better fit in another place.

Previous reports, including internal National Weather Service studies and one commissioned by neighbors, have had differing viewpoints on whether the 98-foot-tall Doppler radar tower works well enough to merit its location near homes.

Backers say it is integral to forecasting flash floods, but some residents say the tower doesn’t belong in their neighborhood, at the top of Sulphur Mountain.

A 1998 federal study suggested that the tower may have a 25% failure rate in predicting floods, Long said. The Camarillo-based supervisor wants an independent reviewer at the National Academy of Sciences to weigh in.

“Rather than having a disagreement between experts, we feel that if we send this information to the National Academy of Sciences, we’ll be better positioned,” Long said.

Since the Nexrad tower’s installation in late 1993, a vocal group of residents has pushed to have it relocated, complaining that the elevated sphere is an eyesore and raising questions about possible long-term health effects from its microwave emissions.

The Board of Supervisors has adopted three resolutions in the past asking that the National Weather Service move the tower.

On Tuesday, Long will ask her colleagues to approve a letter to U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), requesting that the National Academy of Sciences conduct the independent review.

The National Weather Service argues that the tower has proven valuable over the years and that the radar has only missed four storms in the last decade. Todd Morris, chief meteorologist at the service, welcomed a study, saying he was confident it would prove the radar does not hurt people and that it is effective.

“I believe it’s not harmful, it’s in the right place, it’s doing a beautiful job,” he said. “The Ojai radar is a critical tool for us.”

Bruce Garber, who lives near the tower, said he is grateful to Long for continuing to push for its removal.

He said that he has given up being active in the fight, saying, “As far as I’m concerned we’ve kind of run out options. After you’ve written 10 billion letters, there’s a limit to the things that you could do.”

Two years ago, Gallegly was pushing federal legislation that would require the weather service to move the tower, but that attempt failed.