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NOAA acknowledges tornado detection 'dead zones'
FOX 35 News continues to investigate the tornado detection 'dead zone' where National Weather Service officials say their radars are unable to detect tornadoes that form close to the ground.
The weather radar system in Jacksonville, Florida – one of a few in Florida – was down Friday due to mechanical issues, according to the National Weather Service.
In a post on its Facebook page, NWS said the radar system could potentially be down for 48 hours, which comes as tropical moisture moves into Florida, bringing with it showers and storms capable of producing torrential rain, lightning, and high winds.
What does this mean for you?
When the Jacksonville radar site is down, it can produce so-called "dead zones," or zones where tornadoes may not be detected on radar. The same system was down in March when a small tornado touched down in Marion County.
Because of that, no tornado warnings were issued and the tornado went undetected.
To be clear, no tornadic activity is not expected with the storms moving through Central Florida Friday or Saturday. But, the storms could be strong with the potential for strong winds, hail, and lightning.
And NWS has additional radar systems in Tallahassee, Melbourne, Tampa Bay, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.