National Weather Service to Upgrade Radar

CHANHASSEN -- Meteorologists with the National Weather Service will have some new technology to help them when forecasting storms. The agency is spending $50-million nationwide to upgrade their radar to a three-dimensional model.

Minnesota National Weather Service spokesman Dan Luna says it will help them distinguish between different types of precipitation like hail, rain and snow. He says it will also have other applications like forecasting floods and drought.

The technology upgrades will also help meteorologists identify tornadoes at night through the radar's ability to pick up the debris from a twister.