Oceana Hayden
•7/29/2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — Southwest Florida public safety officials are getting a new tool to help them react faster when severe weather threatens.
Lee County is partnering with a private company called Climavision to add a new tool to its weather toolbox, an X-band radar. WINK News Weather Authority Meteorologist Oceana Hayden got a closer look at how it could help keep the community safer.
"It's really important to bring other technologies such as the great radar that WINK has, the C-band system, and the X-band system that we're bringing to create what's really known as a hybrid network, so that we're looking at every possible angle of a particular storm," Tara said.
The new radar will be installed at the Lee County Public Safety Center in Fort Myers. This radar can detect weather 60 miles from the radar site and will provide a more detailed look at the lowest levels of the atmosphere.
WINK Live Doppler 3X has also provided this data to Southwest Florida since its installation in 2022. The detailed atmospheric data can help detect critical weather patterns.
"Things like tornado signatures or wind gust fronts that might be moving through the area, the Weather Service will have that data and be able to act on it," Tara said.
Lee County Safety Director Ben Abes said while this radar data won't be available to the public, it could help keep residents safe. The information will be sent directly to the National Weather Service.
"We expect that there will be enhanced warnings and advisories that will come from this site," Abes said.
Emergency alerts should be turned on in phones so warnings aren't missed. The radar is expected to be installed, weather permitting and active 30 days from there.
Lee County said this partnership comes at no cost to taxpayers. When it comes to weather and keeping the community safe, having more data is always a good thing.
WINK News Weather Authority team uses WINK Live Doppler 3X radar, powered by one million watts, to track weather across a very large area. WINK Live Doppler 3X can detect weather up to 600 miles from the radar site, giving meteorologists more time to analyze potential threats and keep viewers informed efficiently.
Its dual-polarization technology also helps with local storms, providing a better look at tornado debris signatures and a clearer picture of heavy rain events that can lead to flooding. WINK Live Doppler 3X has helped the Weather Authority team track and analyze storms for years and continues to be a vital tool in explaining the weather impacting Southwest Florida.
WINK Live Doppler 3X radar is available on the WINK Weather app, helping users track storms wherever they are.
