FOX 35, on Wednesday August 5, broke ground on an exciting, new weather radar tower in East Orange County. “Guardian” radar is a $1.5 million dollar investment designed to protect our viewers from severe weather.

FOX 35 will be the only station in Florida with this brand new radar technology. The radar tower will be strategically placed in Christmas to deliver its 1 million watts of power throughout Central Florida.

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Every year, more than 30 tornados touch down in the sunshine state.
So far this year there have already been more than 20 tornado warnings issued just for central Florida.

And whether it is a potential tornado or a line of severe storms. Dave sharp of the national weather service knows the importance of doppler radar to track the storm.

But radar as we know it is about to get super amped. You will soon be protected by guardian radar. Fox 35 will be the only station in central Florida with this brand new radar technology.

Guardian radar is dual polarization radar that transmits at 1 million watts, stronger than all of the current radars in central Florida combined!

For you, that means better protection from the storms. It allows fox 35 meteorologists to see quicker and more clearly the rotational winds within a developing tornado.

And what about our summertime storms? Guardian will allow us to see the sea breeze formation and interaction with pin point accuracy.

This dual pole feature takes traditional Doppler radar from being an x-ray of the storm to being the CAT scan and MRI of the storm….all in real time!

During a hurricane, current radars are hampered by what is called rain fade where the radar beam loses punch when it tries to look into the storm.

With dual pole and a newly improved radar dome we can now blast completely through all the storms to show you the heavier rain, strongest winds, and exactly where tornadoes are forming.

This radar will be strategically placed in Christmas, Orange County.
The 1 million watts of power will allow this one radar to guard all of our viewers from downtown Orlando to wildwood from Gainesville to Daytona to Vero Beach.

There will be no blind spots. You can expect this radar to be up and running with the next 45 days and we will keep you updated on this one of a kind, leading technology, right here in central Florida.