Every radar has a story

In October 2017, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) began replacing Canada's weather radar network, starting in Radisson, Saskatchewan.

Despite challenges such as Prairie winds and tight timelines, the new radar's tower quickly rose. The project gained momentum, marking notable milestones in 33 locations from coasts to mountains. Each radar installation came with its own set of hurdles, triumphs, and even fun facts, building the unique narrative behind every radar's journey.

Dive into the stories of Canada's weather radar replacement initiative and explore insights into the technological evolution and the dedicated teams shaping the nation's meteorological landscape.

Figure 1. Explore the new weather radar installations across Canada

Table 1 : Learn about the individual stories of each new weather radar installation across Canada

Radar	Province	Year Completed
Aldergrove	British Columbia	2021
Bethune	Saskatchewan	2021
Blainville	Quebec	2018
Britt	Ontario	2021
Carvel	Alberta	2022
Chipman	New Brunswick	2019
Cold Lake	Alberta	2022
Dryden	Ontario	2020
Exeter	Ontario	2019
Egbert	Ontario Training and Testing Site (real-time data is not available)	2020
Fort McMurray	Alberta	2022
Foxwarren	Manitoba	2018
Franktown	Ontario	2021
Gore	Nova Scotia	2021
Halfmoon Peak	British Columbia	2023
Holyrood	Newfoundland & Labrador	2020
King City	Ontario	2021
Landrienne	Quebec	2019
Marble Mountain	Newfoundland & Labrador	2022
Marion Bridge	Nova Scotia	2019
Mont Apica	Quebec	2023
Montreal River Harbour	Ontario	2019
Prince George	British Columbia	2022
Radisson	Saskatchewan	2017
Shuniah	Ontario	2023
Schuler	Alberta	2020
Silver Star Mountain	British Columbia	2022
Smooth Rock Falls	Ontario	2018
Spirit River	Alberta	2019
Strathmore	Alberta	2019
Ste-Francoise	Quebec	2020
Val d'Irène	Quebec	2020
Woodlands	Manitoba	2020

Radisson - Saskatchewan

In October 2017, the first radar replacement began in Radisson Saskatchewan. This was the first of the 33 radars to be built. ECCC had a technologist, engineer, or scientist on site at least once every week during the build period. The tower for the new Radisson radar went up quickly. High winds on the Prairies slowed down progress by a couple of days, but the timeline was still on track.

The old C-Band Radisson radar XRA was turned off in mid-October. This allowed for the tower installation and switchover of power and telecom to the new radar. Until data from the new radar became available in our systems and products were developed for both internal and external clients using the six neighbouring radars. By mid-December, the new Radisson radar began operating 24/7 producing test data and was available online in early February.

Fun fact: The old Radisson C-Band radar “XRA” had a long and distinguished career. The XRA Radar operated for 6698 days spanning four Prime Ministers, eight times the Maple Leaf’s lost in the playoffs and cents/liter of Gas in Saskatoon went from 59.8 to 93.4!

Site ID: CASRA
Former Radar (ID): Radisson (XRA)
Installation Year (FY): 2017/2018
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 15-Oct-17
New S-Band Online: 07-Feb-18
Area Served: Saskatoon/North Battleford
Latitude: 52.52048
Longitude: -107.44269
Elevation: 532 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Blainville – Quebec

After successfully completing one radar in the first year of the construction phase, the plan for 2018 was to install an additional four radars. The site selection for the Blainville radar considered factors such as the ideal open space at Transport Canada’s Motor Vehicle Test Centre and the need for an elevated location. Construction of the Blainville radar went smoothly. Once the tower was up and data production commenced, work began to optimize clutter filters and validate the data.

Fun fact: One of the first operational radars in the country was owned and operated by McGill University located at the J.S. Marshall Radar Observatory. ECCC accessed the radar data through a 50-year data usage contract which concluded on September 30, 2018. Due to McGill’s academic needs for specialized radar access, ECCC initiated the construction of a new weather radar in Blainville to maintain public radar coverage in Montreal.

Site ID: CASBV
Former Radar (ID): McGill (WMN)
Installation Year (FY): 2018/2019
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 27-Sep-18
New S-Band Online: 27-Sep-18
Area Served: Montreal
Latitude: 45.70628
Longitude: -73.85892
Elevation: 70.7 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Foxwarren – Manitoba

Foxwarren, located in Manitoba, was the next radar installed. This radar is particularly important as it’s in a critical tornado/severe thunderstorm area. Missing radar data during the building process could have potential impacts to communities nearby. 

A decision was made to install a temporary shorter range “X” band radar nearby to provide interim coverage.  The X-band radar was moved off to another site after the construction of the Foxwarren site was completed. Right after the Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) of the Foxwarren radar, the first technicians’ training course on these new radars was facilitated at this location. The purpose of Site Acceptance Testing is to ensure that the installed system meets contractual requirements. It also aims to verify that the system performs as expected within its operational environment.

Site ID: CASFW
Former Radar (ID): Foxwarren (XFW)
Installation Year (FY): 2018/2019
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 20-Jun-18
New S-Band Online: 27-Sep-18
Area Served: Eastern Saskatchewan/Western Manitoba
Latitude: 50.548748
Longitude: -101.08563
Elevation: 552.5 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Smooth Rock Falls – Ontario

Smooth Rock Falls, located in northern Ontario, was the fourth radar to be installed. The construction of this radar proceeded smoothly, following a typical timeline. It involved four to six weeks for foundation work, six weeks for tower construction and electrical installations, three weeks for radar installation and antenna lift/radome closing. There is also an additional four to five weeks for infrastructure finalization, calibration, and commissioning.

Once the radar was turned on, test data was collected 24/7 in the burn-in phase for a minimum of four weeks. At this point, with internal data available, the old site was decommissioned. The burn-in phase was used to monitor the system’s behavior during continuous operation for an extended duration under normal working conditions. This phase helps identify any early failures, manufacturing defects, or issues that might arise during regular use.

Fun fact: after the four weeks of burn-in, there is a rigorous site acceptance testing process. During this phase, the radar and its infrastructure undergo thorough testing to ensure the quality of the site and its data. Once it has passed the tests, the radar data can be shared with the public. 

Site ID: CASRF
Former Radar (ID): Timmins (XTI)
Installation Year (FY): 2018/2019
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 14-Aug-18
New S-Band Online: 4-Nov-18
Area Served: Northeastern Ontario
Latitude: 49.28126
Longitude: -81.79385
Elevation: 244.5 m.
Tower Height: 25.2 m.

Spirit River – Alberta

Spirit River radar, located in Alberta, was the first of our mountain top sites. It provided some real challenges to the team – both in terms of weather and operational construction issues. Due to the small footprint of the location, the old radar had to be dismantled before the new radar could be built.

The decommissioning of the old radar was challenging due to the muddy roads. However, by late July, the work was completed, and the site was ready for the new foundation and radar to be built.

Fun fact: Users may notice a wedge shaped “gap” in the data to the West. A manned fire-lookout tower is located in this area, so to ensure safety, there is a special software feature that prevents the radar from emitting energy in that direction.

Site ID: CASSR
Former Radar (ID): Spirit River (WWW)
Installation Year (FY): 2018/2019
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 12-Jun-18
New S-Band Online: 22-Feb-19
Area Served: Grand Prairie
Latitude: 55.694942
Longitude: -119.230432
Elevation: 1015.8 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Exeter – Ontario

Exeter was the second radar to be built in Ontario. It was the first of seven radars to be built in 2019 with the foundational work completed in fall of 2018.  It was not until early May of 2019 when the construction of the new Exeter tower began and the radar was completed in early August. This was the earliest for any radar to be completed with a three month turn around for the construction and commissioning process.

Officials from the University of Western Ontario attended the decommissioning event alongside our team. The University is actively engaged in formulating strategies to repurpose the outdated C-band radar into a dedicated research radar for one of their projects.

Site ID: CASET
Former Radar (ID): Exeter (WSO)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 28-May-19
New S-Band Online: 09-Aug-2019
Area Served: South Western Ontario
Latitude: 43.372425
Longitude: -81.380698
Elevation: 303.8 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Bethune – Saskatchewan

Bethune was another radar where the foundation work was completed in the fall of 2018. However, over a weekend, the team received notification that the contractor would arrive to the site several weeks ahead of schedule. This was due to favorable weather conditions to make progress on the lower levels of the tower.

The remainder of the construction was completed later in the Spring when the road conditions allowed for the larger crane and shelter buildings to be delivered and installed. Work continued at Bethune and by mid-July test data from the new radar was available internally. By mid-September, Bethune radar was the first of the year to fully complete Site Acceptance Testing and come online.

Site ID: CASBE
Former Radar (ID): Bethune (XBE)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 18-Jun-19
New S-Band Online: 09-Aug-19
Area Served: Regina/Moose Jaw
Latitude: 50.571232
Longitude: 105.182848
Elevation: 586.8 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Marion Bridge – Nova Scotia

Construction on the Marion Bridge radar in Nova Scotia kicked off in late April 2019. This was marked by the commencement of foundation work by the contractors.

Work on the new radar continued and looked to be speeding to the finish line until challenges arose. The goal was to have the Marion Bridge radar station producing data by the end of August. However, a critical component malfuctioned, causing delay in commissioning and burn-in until mid-September which pushed the testing to October.

Site ID: CASMB
Former Radar (ID): Marion Bridge (XMB)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 17-Jun-19
New S-Band Online: 18-Oct-19
Area Served: Cape Breton
Latitude: 45.949718
Longitude: -60.205246
Elevation: 102.5 m.
Tower Height: 19.2 m.

Chipman – New Brunswick

The Chipman radar station was the first to be installed in New Brunswick. The foundation work began in early May, however, had to be delayed a few weeks due to heavy rains and mucky conditions.

By the end of August, Canadian Weather Radar Replacement Program was on hand for calibration and commissioning of the new radar. Burn-in test data was completed by early September with the SAT by in early October.

Site ID: CASCM
Former Radar (ID): Chipman (XNC)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 12-Jul-19
New S-Band Online: 10-Oct-19
Area Served: Fredericton
Latitude: 46.222378
Longitude: -65.699294
Elevation: 100.9 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Landrienne – Quebec

In early May, the foundation work for the Landrienne radar station in Quebec commenced. The construction progressed swiftly, reaching the completion of the tower and the closure of the radome by late August. Calibration and commissioning followed in mid-September with Site Acceptance Testing completed by the end of October.

Fun fact: Landrienne radar was one of the first to have its range extended to help provide data for the Britt and Montreal River Harbour radars during their construction.

Site ID: CASLA
Former Radar (ID): Landrienne (XLA)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 08-Jul-19
New S-Band Online: 31-Oct-19
Area Served: Val d’Or
Latitude: 48.551355
Longitude: -77.808086
Elevation: 394 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Montreal River Harbour – Ontario

The Montreal River Harbour, located in Ontario, was unique, as the old radar had to be removed before the new radar could be installed. This was due to the lack of available footprint which resulted in a long period without radar data.

The demolition work on the old radar began in April 2019, turning off completely in May. Early in the summer, the contractor faced challenges related to the site’s foundation. Delays occurred as the stub legs of the tower had to be reconstructed. However, the issue was successfully addressed, and the tower was completed. Commissioning and calibration took place in mid-October and the final testing was completed by the end of November.

Site ID: CASMR
Former Radar (ID): Montreal River Harbour (WGJ)
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 07-May-19
New S-Band Online: 29-Nov-19
Area Served: Superior East
Latitude: 47.247807
Longitude: -84.596686
Elevation: 527.1 m.
Tower Height: 22.2 m.

Strathmore – Alberta

Strathmore radar was the sixth site to be undertaken in 2019 with foundation work beginning in July. To ensure constant data availability for the city of Calgary and area during the critical summer severe weather period, a temporary radar was positioned near Airdrie during the construction period.

SAT for the new S-band radar in Strathmore, Alberta was successfully completed in November 2019. By November 15, all seven of the 2019 year’s new S-band radars were operating and producing data.

Site ID: CASSM
Former Radar (ID): Strathmore
Installation Year (FY): 2019/2020
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 16-Aug-19
New S-Band Online: 18-Nov-19
Area Served: Calgary
Latitude: 51.20613
Longitude: -113.399366
Elevation: 969.6 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Schuler – Alberta

The Schuler radar marked the beginning of the new construction year, with plans for the installation of seven more radars in 2020. The foundation for this site was completed in the fall of 2019. In early March, construction resumed, and it was anticipated that the Schuler radar would be finished quickly with plans to have internal data accessible by June. However, murmurs of the worldwide pandemic emerged and a backup plan to keep the old radars online was developed.

After a pause during the pandemic travel shutdowns, construction resumed in May with numerous safety measures in place. The commissioning and calibration phase for the new radar began on June 29. The burn-in process commenced in mid-July with testing accomplished and the data online in early September.

Site ID: CASSU
Former Radar (ID): Schuler (XBU)
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 03-Jun-20    
New S-Band Online: 08-Sep-20
Area Served: Medicine Hat
Latitude: 50.312503
Longitude: -110.195362
Elevation: 864 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Dryden – Ontario

The Dryden radar, located in Ontario, had a similar story to Schuler’s. Their foundations were completed in fall of 2019, and both were affected by the pandemic outbreak. Construction resumed in May and by the end of June, the old radar was turned off. The burn-in process began in August with the testing completed in September and online by September 3.

During the pandemic, the team remained busy with preparations for the year and all the remaining radar replacements. A number of scenarios were developed contingent on when life would return closer to normal. Due to travel bans, technicians were unable to travel to the site until summer, leading to adjustments in construction schedules.

Site ID: CASDR
Former Radar (ID): Dryden (XDR)
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 29-Jun-20    
New S-Band Online: 03-Sep-20
Area Served: Northwestern Ontario
Latitude: 49.858047
Longitude: -92.797566
Elevation: 411.3 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Holyrood – Newfoundland and Labrador

The Holyrood radar was the first new radar to be installed in Newfoundland and Labrador. Due to pandemic-related delays, the contractor postponed the construction start dates for the Holyrood and Villeroy/Sainte-Francoise radars from March to April 2020.

The foundation for Holyrood had been completed before a temporary halt as contractors returned home amid the pandemic. Following the implementation of safety measures, construction activities resumed in May. During June, the Holyrood tower construction commenced, leading to the deactivation of the old radar. The burn-in phase started in August, with testing completed and data online in mid-October 2020.

Site ID: CASHR
Former Radar (ID): Holyrood (WTP)
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 02-Jun-20    
New S-Band Online: 13-Oct-20
Area Served: Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
Latitude: 47.326604
Longitude: -53.12667
Elevation: 293.2 m.
Tower Height: 19.2 m.

Sainte Francoise – Quebec

The Sainte Francoise radar, located in Quebec, had a very small footprint of land. This resulted in the old radar having to be removed before the contractor could start with the new foundation and tower. Work on the new foundation was underway by early summer. The burn-in phase and testing was completed by mid-November and the radar was online.

The testing proceeded smoothly with very few items on the repair list. However, conducting the testing in a "red zone" (areas with a high level of COVID-19 transmission or risk) presented challenges. This led to the four-person team having to remain completely isolated throughout the entire trip.

Site ID: CASSF
Former Radar (ID): Villeroy (WVY)
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 26-May-20    
New S-Band Online: 10-Nov-20
Area Served: Québec City
Latitude: 46.449476  
Longitude: -71.913832  
Elevation: 106.1 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Egbert CARE testing and training radar – Ontario

The Egbert CARE Testing and Training radar in Ontario is a unique radar. Although it is built to the same specifications as the other radars, it is the only new radar that is solely used for testing and training purposes. It does not operate 24/7 and does not provide data to external sources.

This radar plays a pivotal role in training radar technologists and engineers without disrupting the service of operational radars. The site acts as a safe ground for testing new hardware and software. It ensures smooth deployment across the network and augmenting data availability while averting any glitches or unplanned shutdowns.

The radar training site is in high demand because it provides extensive investigations and learning opportunities. The project's focus is now on optimizing the performance of newly deployed radars.

Site ID: CASTS   
Former Radar (ID): Care training site
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: N/A
New S-Band Online: N/A
Area Served: Not operational/Not online
Latitude: 44.230364
Longitude: -79.780859
Elevation: 242.10 m.
Tower Height: 19.6 m.

Woodlands – Manitoba

Woodlands radar marked the sixth radar to be installed with one more to go for the 2020 year.

The foundation work for this Manitoba radar was completed by the end of June 2020. Tower construction began on June 29 and the old C-band radar was turned off. Burn-in commence on September 14, with SAT on October 16, marking the new radar for online operation.

Fun fact: Colleagues from the Atmospheric Monitoring Division installed an X-band to provide coverage for the city of Winnipeg during the outage.

Site ID: CASWL
Former Radar (ID): Woodlands (XWL)
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 29-Jul-20
New S-Band Online: 19-Oct-20
Area Served: Winnipeg
Latitude: 50.153001
Longitude: -97.780482
Elevation: 274.4 m.
Tower Height: 16.2 m.

Val d’Irene – Quebec

The Val d’Irene, located in Quebec, was the last of the radars to be built in 2020. By the end of June 2020, the radar’s foundation was completed, and the new tower was underway. The burn-in phase commenced on September 28 with SAT concluding in early November, making the radar available online.

Being at the top of a ski hill posed challenges during the construction process and testing when an early snowfall affected site access. Despite these challenges, the site passed all tests, and the burn-in period was completed.

Fun fact: This radar was unique as it sits on top of a ski hill. It gives the opportunity for negative scan angles which allow meteorologists to observe lower elevation precipitation in nearby valleys.

Site ID: CASVD
Former Radar (ID): Val d'Irene (XAM)  
Installation Year (FY): 2020/2021  
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 18-Jun-20
New S-Band Online: 02-Nov-20
Area Served: Lower St. Lawrence  
Latitude: 48.480468  
Longitude: -67.601036  
Elevation: 713.8  m.
Tower Height: 19.2 m.

King - Ontario

The King City Weather radar station provides coverage to Toronto and nearby areas. Additionally, it serves various research purposes and gathers operational data to meet observational requirements.

In 2021, the construction schedule for the three Ontario radars, King, Franktown, and Britt, during the spring/summer period was strategically staggered. This approach aimed to minimize the downtime of adjacent radars. The construction of the radar towers commenced on March 1, 2021, and was successfully completed on April 2. The old C-Band research radar was permanently taken offline on March 12. Test data became available in June, with data accessible to the public at the end of June. On Thursday, July 15, an EF-2 tornado made its way through a neighbourhood in Barrie, ON, and was detected by the new radar.

The radar not only fulfills operational needs but also maintains its research functionality. This occurs by facilitating a second signal processing system that runs in parallel to the operational one. This dual capability enhances the radar's versatility and contributes to ongoing research efforts.

Fun fact: The King City radar provides coverage to the largest population center in Canada, the Greater Toronto Area.

Site ID: CASKR  
Former Radar (ID): King (WKR)
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022  
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 12-Mar-21
New S-Band Online: 28-Jun-21  
Area Served: Southern Ontario
Latitude: 43.96366  
Longitude: -79.572884  
Elevation: 358.5 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Franktown – Ontario

The Franktown radar, located in Ontario, marked the first of seven to be installed for the 2021 year. To expedite the year’s radar installations, the foundation for Franktown was completed in 2020. On February 8, 2021, the radar contractor started work on the first tower.

During this period, the old radar was temporarily restored with a blanked sector facing the new radar tower. Construction work on the new radar resumed in late April and final testing with data accessible to the public commenced in August.

Site ID: CASFT
Former Radar (ID): Franktown (XFT)
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 19-Apr-21
New S-Band Online: 03-Aug-21
Area Served: Eastern Ontario
Latitude: 45.041147
Longitude: -76.116384  
Elevation: 145.5 m.
Tower Height: 22.2 m.

Gore – Nova Scotia

The Gore radar, located in Nova Scotia, was the 22^nd radar to be built. The tower construction began in April 2021, with the radar installation team scheduled for mid-May.

As hurricane season neared, the plan for the Gore radar was to reach the internal data stage by late July, with data available at the end of August. Fortunately, the range of the Marion Bridge radar had been extended to 400 km. This aided coverage for Holyrood, as well as, benefiting the Gore coverage area beyond Yarmouth and high traffic marine zones.

Site ID: CASGO
Former Radar (ID): Gore (XGO)  
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 25-May-21
New S-Band Online: 30-Aug-21
Area Served: Halifax
Latitude: 45.098183
Longitude: -63.704942
Elevation: 214.2 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Britt – Ontario

The Britt radar, located in Ontario, provides coverage to northern Georgian Bay, Sudbury, and North Bay areas. Construction for this site began in mid-June 2021. The old radar remained operational until the King radar was online, and the Franktown radar entered its internal data phase. This strategic sequencing ensured that Ontario did not experience concurrent downtime for three neighboring radars. Data from the new Britt radar was internally available in early October and available to the public by late-November.

Fun fact: In a similar vein as the Carvel radar, the Montreal River and Landrienne extended range covered 400 km during the Britt outage to close the gap.

Site ID: CASBI
Former Radar (ID): Britt (WBI)
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 10-Aug- 21    
New S-Band Online: 22-Nov-21
Area Served: Georgian Bay  
Latitude: 45.793091  
Longitude: -80.534137
Elevation: 190.3 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Aldergrove – British Columbia

Aldergrove, Southeast of Vancouver, was the first radar in British Columbia to be replaced. The foundation was completed in the Spring of 2021. Quickly after, the demolition of the old building and tower was completed. Unfortunately, the demolition process was not as smooth as previous radar installations. Hazardous materials needed to be dealt with along with the remediations of an old septic tank. Tower construction started that May with data available online for the public in September. During construction when the old radar was offline, there was very little coverage for the Metro Vancouver area. Luckily, meteorologists were very glad to have the new radar online once the fall storms hit. Particularly in the fall of 2021 when a historic flooding event hit the Fraser Valley, with the new radar providing meteorologists, emergency planners and the public with data every six minutes.

Site ID: CASAG
Former Radar (ID): Aldergrove (WUJ)  
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 08-Apr-21
New S-Band Online: 07-Sep-21
Area Served: Vancouver
Latitude: 49.016441  
Longitude: -122.487357  
Elevation: 93 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m.

Cold Lake - Alberta

This radar, also known as the "Jimmy Lake" radar, was initially owned and operated by the Department of National Defense (DND) on their shooting range. It needed to be moved because the new radars had much more power, making the radiofrequency exposure levels potentially unsafe at the nearby observation tower at Jimmy Lake Range, as it was also close to an existing weather radar.  Also, building and maintaining the radar faced difficulties due to access to the Primrose Lake Evaluation Range. Several alternative locations were investigated, but it quickly narrowed down to an ideal site near Cherry Grove.  It required low level radar coverage over the Cold Lake airfield while still ensuring coverage for the Cold Lake air Weapons Range. The new radar was completed in 2022.

Site ID: CASCL
Former Radar (ID): Jimmy Lake (WHN)  
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 22-Nov-21
New S-Band Online: 26-Oct-21
Area Served: Northwest Saskatchewan/Northeast Alberta  
Latitude: 54.378884
Longitude: -110.061378  
Elevation: 634.4 m.
Tower Height: 28.3 m

Carvel – Alberta

Carvel's old radar resulted in sometimes unreliable data, which was particularly concerning for North Central Alberta during offline periods, especially in the summer thunderstorm season. Keeping the weather top of mind, the foundation for the Carvel replacement radar started in late May. Rather than continuing construction through the summer, this radar was done in two phases, allowing a break during the summer severe weather season, and completed later in the year. To provide some mitigation during the period without radar, the old radar was kept in readiness to return to operation for as long as possible. In addition to the four closest radars which had their range extended to help provide data in the area.

Construction resumed in mid-to-late August with internal data planned to be available by early November. Challenges arose and during final construction, there was a global shipping crisis that had container ships delayed for weeks. As well as flooding in British Columbia that resulted in major transit infrastructure destroyed just as critical shipments had landed. Nevertheless, the team persevered and on December 18th, the Carvel radar system initiated its burn-in.

Site ID: CASCV
Former Radar (ID): Carvel (WHK)
Installation Year (FY): 2021/2022
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 23-Sep-22
New S-Band Online: 26-Jan-22
Area Served: Edmonton  
Latitude: 53.560612  
Longitude: -114.144469
Elevation: 782.7  m.
Tower Height: 22.6 m.

Marble Mountain – Newfoundland and Labrador

Marble Mountain, located in Newfoundland and Labrador, was the next radar on the list. Over the years, the old radar had several challenges due to its unique climate and extreme winds. Similar to previous radars at this location, the old radar had to be removed before the work began on the new radar.

The high winds at this site were relentless, leaving only a narrow window for safe rigging work at height and crane operations. Knowing this, the construction was split into two phases spanning the calmer summer weather in 2021 and 2022. In anticipation of this lengthy radar outage, two nearby radars, Holyrood and Marion Bridge, had their range extended from 240 km to 400 km. This provided meteorologists with additional radar data in this area. This unique climatology also inspired unique design features to strengthen the infrastructure and ensure radar availability under all weather conditions.

This radar has been configured to utilize a mountain scan strategy with a scan range of 330 km and the lowest scan elevation angle of 0.0°. On September 13, 2021, the new Marble Mountain radar produced its first weather products and data, with data available to the public on October 31.

Fun fact: The Marble Mountain radar wins the contest as the weather radar station with the fiercest weather.

Site ID: CASMM
Former Radar (ID): Marble Mountain (XME)
Installation Year (FY): 2022/2023
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 27-May-21
New S-Band Online: 31-Oct-22
Area Served: Western Newfoundland and Labrador  
Latitude: 48.930228  
Longitude: -57.834579
Elevation: 542 m.
Tower Height: 19.2 m.

Silver Star Mountain – British Columbia

In the fall of 2021, the foundation work for the new Silver Star Mountain radar was completed before the seasonal shutdown of the roads. In 2022, after a long winter season, the snow melted, allowing safe road access and construction to begin again.

During tower construction, the existing C-Band radar (XSS) had to undergo sector blanking for safety, before its eventual decommissioning to allocate power to the new radar system. The mountaintop build continued to be a significant challenge, including nearby forest fires and a short construction window before the roads would close again for the winter season.

Silver Star Mountain radar features a unique tower design with an elevated base platform and snow/ice cover panels to accommodate the substantial snowfall at this mountain resort. It also had been configured to utilize a mountain scan strategy with a scan range of 330 km and a lowest scan elevation angle of -0.3°. On December 14, 2022, the operational data feed for this radar was activated, allowing data flow to operational and public web servers.

Fun fact: The Silver Star Mountain radar is the highest out of all 33 weather radars in Canada, with an elevation of 1884.5 metres!

Site ID: CASSS
Former Radar (ID): Silver Star Mountain (XSS)  
Installation Year (FY): 2022/2023
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 22-Jul-22
New S-Band Online: 14-Dec-22
Area Served: Southern Interior
Latitude: 50.369109  
Longitude: -119.064196  
Elevation: 1884.5  m.
Tower Height: 28.7 m.

Mont Apica – Quebec

The Mont Apica radar, located in Quebec, had a similar origin to Cold Lake’s radar and was operated by the Department of National Defense. Analysis of the site showed that a relocation was required due to DND’s powerful Air-Surveillance Radar operating in a nearby frequency. This would have imposed a very high risk of damaging ECCC’s sensitive new weather radar receiver components.

A new location was identified for the radar, one that improved the quality of coverage with less low-level blockages towards NW and SW areas. It also met the requirements of DND, which required low-level radar coverage at nearby bases. The new site had an enhanced Doppler, overlapping in the SW upstream area along the St. Lawrence River, where summer convective events are frequent.

Construction began in 2022 and on January 28, 2023, the Mont Apica passed its SAT. This radar had been configured to utilize a mountain scan strategy with a scan range of 330 km and a lowest scan elevation angle of 0.0°.

Fun fact: The previous radar, located in Lac Castor, was operated by the Canadian Armed Forces between 1952 and 2023.

Site ID: CASMA
Former Radar (ID): Lac Castor (WMB)
Installation Year (FY): 2022/2023
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 23-Jun-23
New S-Band Online: 6-Feb-23
Area Served: Saguenay
Latitude: 47.97790833  
Longitude: -71.4308333  
Elevation: 887 m.
Tower Height: 25.7 m.

Fort McMurray – Alberta

The radar modernizations project involved adding a radar in the Lower Athabasca region of Northeastern Alberta. This additional radar provides coverage to the Fort McMurray and surrounding area due to its frequent severe weather events during the summer season and rapid economic growth. A significant population in this area work outside year-round, making it crucial to provide timely weather forecasts, warnings and real-time weather updates.

After an analysis of 15 potential locations, the final location of the Fort McMurray radar was selected as it would:

• Extend coverage to the Fort McMurray and surrounding area, including more precise coverage over airports, roads, and oil sand industries. 
• Increase precision of forecasts and frequency of updates contributing to better support the response activities to protect lives, properties, and critical infrastructure and to ensure safety of first responders.
• Provide upstream information for storms approaching central Alberta and Saskatchewan from the north.

Once the approvals were complete, the foundation was installed in late 2021 with tower construction beginning in May 2022. Despite the many challenges encountered during the construction process for the new Fort McMurray radar, it was the first of the five new radars to go online in 2022. It marked a significant increase in radar coverage over northern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan.

Site ID: CASFM
Former Radar (ID): N/A
Installation Year (FY): 2022/2023
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: N/A
New S-Band Online: 26-Sep-22
Area Served: Lower Athabasca
Latitude: 56.375628
Longitude: -111.21515  
Elevation: 756.4 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Prince George – British Columbia

Due to the tiny footprint of available land at this mountaintop site, the old C-Band radar had to be removed before the new one was built. In anticipation of this radar outage, two nearby radars, Carvel and Spirit River, had their range extended from 240 km to 400 km to provide meteorologists with additional radar data, especially during the summer severe weather and forest fire season. 

Once the old radar was gone, work commenced on the new foundation and tower starting in June. This radar passed its final SAT on December 17, 2022, and the operational data feed activated two days after. This allowed data flow to operational and public web servers before the holiday season. This radar was configured to utilize a mountain scan strategy with a scan range of 330 km and the lowest scan elevation angle of 0.0°.

Site ID: CASPG
Former Radar (ID): Prince George (XPG)  
Installation Year (FY): 2022/2023
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 23-Jun-22
New S-Band Online: 19-Dec-22
Area Served: Central Interior
Latitude: 53.61539
Longitude: -122.95469
Elevation: 1114.2 m.
Tower Height: 25.7 m.

Shuniah - Ontario

The previous radar, located in Lasseter Lake, held numerous operational challenges such as lengthy power outages. Several potential sites were identified with the leading candidate being a new radar in the Shuniah area. A radar in this location had more reliable power and telecommunication service. This provided improved coverage to the Thunder Bay area and lower elevations near the lake. As the new radar was being built at a new location, the old radar was kept running during the entire planned construction period.

Challenges during the construction phase arose, with global supply chain issues causing delays. There was a concern that Marble Mountain might not be built on schedule. To address this, the project team chose to transport crucial radar components from Shuniah to Marble Mountain. Meanwhile, the Thunder Bay area continued to be covered by the old radar at Lasseter Lake. The new and much anticipated Shuniah radar located near Thunder Bay, Ontario was completed and passed its Site Acceptance testing on July 15, 2023, with operational data feed available for the public. This new radar was configured to utilize a scan strategy with a range of 330 km and the lowest scan elevation angle of 0.4°.

Site ID: CASSN  
Former Radar (ID): Lasseter Lake (XNI)  
Installation Year (FY): 2023/2024  
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 18-Jul-23
New S-Band Online: 17-Jul-23  
Area Served: Superior West  
Latitude: 48.596001  
Longitude: -89.100038  
Elevation: 506 m.
Tower Height: 25.3 m.

Halfmoon Peak – British Columbia

The final radar and the most complex and challenging of all 33 installations was the Halfmoon Peak radar, located in British Columbia. From July 2000 until November 2017, a radar on Mount Sicker, provided coverage to the southern Strait of Georgia and the southern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Terrain blockage and redundant coverage, along with operational challenges of the Mount Sicker site and prolonged downtime, led to the decision to find an alternative site for the new S-band Dual Polarization radar.

Following an analysis of potential sites, the Halfmoon Peak location was selected. To enable the best data possible, the tower was planned to be the tallest in the entire network at 34.4 metres. Construction began in early 2023 and the new radar was completed by mid-July. Meteorologists at ECCC had test data to start using the new radar in warnings and forecasts. The final radar of the radar replacement project was made available to the public on August 21, 2023.

Fun fact: The Halfmoon Peak has the tallest tower height of 34.4 meters.

Site ID: CASHP  
Former Radar (ID): Mount Sicker (XSI)  
Installation Year (FY): 2023/2024  
Old C-Band Radar Off Network: 18-Nov-17  
New S-Band Online: 21-Aug-23
Area Served: Southwestern British Columbia especially communities surrounding the Northern Strait of Georgia
Latitude: 49.527035  
Longitude: -123.853712  
Elevation: 572.2 m.
Tower Height: 34.4 m.