East Mississippi residents will have a better idea of when bad weather is heading their way as the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday announced a new weather radar station is being built in Marion.

At a press conference announcing the radar installation, LEMA Director Odie Barrett said current radar coverage of the area does not go lower than 8,000 feet.

“When we see radar that shows our area, that’s only from 8,000 feet up and nothing on the ground level,” he said. “What that means is an EF1 tornado, an EF2 and sometimes an EF3 tornado that comes in our area comes in under the radar and we do not know that it’s in our area until it’s too late.”

Efforts to get another radar system in place to cover the blind spot have been ongoing for years, Barrett said, but the $10 million to $20 million price tag, with additional insurance and maintenance costs, has made the idea hard to sell.

Although justifying the cost to taxpayers is not an attractive option, Barrett said a private company doesn’t have that problem. Climavision, a company that compiles and markets meteorological data, has agreed to install the radar station without involving taxpayer funds, he said.

“Climavision is going to come into Lauderdale County with zero cost to the taxpayers,” he said. “And not just the Lauderdale County taxpayers. It’s also the state and federal taxes are not being used to fund this project. The project is being funded 100% by a private company.”

While Climavision will recoup its investment by selling the radar data it collects, Lauderdale County residents will benefit from the additional information about storm systems and potential severe weather moving through the area. Barrett said the radar station will also reach beyond the county lines, with much of east Mississippi benefiting from the system.

Marion Mayor Larry Gill said the radar is set to be installed on the town’s water tower in the northeast industrial park. The town is currently working through the necessary contracts and paperwork, he said, and is excited to move the project forward.

“We’ve just got to do always what’s best for the citizens, and I think this is an opportunity to enhance the quality of life, even in our area,” he said. “So, we’re glad to be apart of it, and we’re just looking forward to seeing it put up.”

Barrett said the goal was to begin construction on the radar station toward the end of the month, which would put the completion date around the first of the year. Once installed, it will take some work to get everything online and working properly, but the radar should be up and running soon.

“I’d say middle of January they should be running strong,” he said, “just in time for what we call tornado season in our area.”

Both Lauderdale County and Marion residents can stay informed of severe weather by signing up to receive severe weather alerts through LEMA. Sign up can be done online at lemaonline.com or by texting a resident’s zip code to 888777.