Bay Area

New Weather Radar for Public Safety Response Part of Bay Area radar system, led by Sonoma, to be installed on Mount Barnabe

Extreme weather systems, such as atmospheric rivers, have hit California with increasing frequency in recent years. The average damage from floods caused by atmospheric rivers in California is now over $1 billion per year. Marin County has experienced its share of these intense storms and the damages are both costly and disruptive.

Published

3 years ago

March 13, 2023

Oakland Post

San Rafael, CA – Extreme weather systems, such as atmospheric rivers, have hit California with increasing frequency in recent years. The average damage from floods caused by atmospheric rivers in California is now over $1 billion per year. Marin County has experienced its share of these intense storms and the damages are both costly and disruptive. In times of emergency, accurate and timely forecasts are critical for cost-effective risk-based decisions regarding public safety response measures, infrastructure operations, and essential resource allocation.

The Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) is collaborating with local, state and federal agencies, with Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) as the project manager, on weather radar installations at key locations across the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The result will be a regional weather prediction system that uses enhanced weather radar to track atmospheric rivers.

As part of a larger project managed by Sonoma County Water Agency, a new weather radar installation is expected to be installed on Mount Barnabe in West Marin, which will vastly improve emergency response and public safety measures for the entire Bay Area during atmospheric river events. The installation on Mount Barnabe would be similar to the one that was recently installed on Rocky Ridge in the East Bay (shown).

This public safety and emergency response improvement project is funded by grants from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The system, known as the Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information (AQPI) project, includes two types of radar, X-band and C-band, which are being installed across various counties in the Bay Area. Five X-band radar installations will be placed in counties outside of Marin and a single C-band radar installation will be placed on top of County-owned Mount Barnabe in West Marin. The Mount Barnabe location currently has a MERA radio installation and a Marin County Fire Department lookout tower in proximity to the planned C-band radar installation, so electricity and internet connections are already in place.

An online community meeting was held February 15 to discuss the details of the project and answer questions for residents living in the vicinity of Mount Barnabe. The Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider SCWA’s proposed lease agreement for the Mount Barnabe site at the March 7 public meeting.

The C-band radar will be mounted about 10 feet above the ground on top of a 24-by-16-foot concrete pad. The 10-foot diameter golf ball shaped “radome” encloses and protects the radar antenna from the elements. To minimize visibility, the structure will be painted beige to better compliment the surrounding environment and blend in with the color tones of the hillside.

The C-band radar system uses a directional antenna to focus the beam in a specific direction, like how a lighthouse creates a narrow beam of light, and then scans vertically and horizontally to produce an image of the atmosphere. The radar will not exceed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommended radar levels for general population and is below all applicable regulatory standards. Also, because the radar will be placed 10 feet above the ground, the radar beam will be higher than the tallest person in the area.

Having a C-band radar on Mount Barnabe provides a clear view of the Pacific Ocean, which is where atmospheric rivers start. As storms hit land and move toward the Bay Area, the radar will track precipitation as it falls. The location on top of the mountain will also give great coverage of the populated areas of Marin. In Sonoma, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties, the coverage of the new C-band radar installation will overlap with that of the X-band radars, giving all counties good coverage.

Both SCWA and the County of Marin have found the project to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements for additional environmental review. The determination was made because the project is proposed on a previously developed area with similar government facility land uses, and the resulting radar installation would not impact the quality of the location, nor result in any cumulative adverse effects upon the surrounding environment.

Permitting is anticipated to be finalized by SCWA by mid-2023, with radar installation occurring in the second half of 2023. The timeline for the $2 million effort on Mount Barnabe is driven by the requirement that grant funding be used by the end of 2023. The operation of the radar system will be transferred to the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, which is part of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

7 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.