Stevens Institute of Technology has installed a new X-band weather radar system on its Hoboken campus, aiming to improve severe weather monitoring and forecasting for the New York metropolitan area. The initiative is led by the university’s Davidson Laboratory, which specializes in coastal resilience research and extreme weather prediction.
X-band radar systems operate at higher frequencies than traditional S-band NEXRAD radars used by the National Weather Service. This allows them to provide more detailed images, which are important for detecting fast-developing local weather events such as flash floods, heavy rainfall, and microbursts in urban areas.
The new radar complements existing tools at Davidson Laboratory, including the Stevens Flood Advisory System (SFAS). SFAS offers real-time water level data and four-day flood forecasts across over 150 locations from Delaware Bay to Maine. Its information is used by agencies like the US National Weather Service and local emergency management offices. With the addition of X-band radar capabilities, Davidson Laboratory expects to deliver more accurate and timely precipitation data, improving early warnings for communities in the region.
“This X-band radar installation represents a significant investment in research that will enhance the safety and resilience of our surrounding communities,” said Greg Townsend, assistant vice president for corporate, government and community relations at Stevens Institute of Technology. “Stevens has a long history of partnering with local, state, and federal agencies to provide critical weather and flood information, and this new capability will allow us to deliver even more timely and actionable data to the people who need it most.”
The installation forms part of a broader expansion of Davidson Laboratory’s extreme-event monitoring infrastructure. Federal and state funding has supported projects such as the Stevens Extreme Event Coastal Preparedness and Response System (SEECPRS), which brings together supercomputing resources, drones equipped with LiDAR technology, portable weather stations, and now X-band radar. These combined technologies are designed to collect essential data before, during, and after severe weather incidents—helping validate predictive models used for disaster mitigation strategies.
“The X-band radar gives us the ability to observe precipitation with a level of detail that was not previously possible from our campus,” said Dr. Marouane Temimi, Gallaher Associate Professor at Stevens’ Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering and Science. He worked alongside his PhD student Ismail Gul on deploying the system. “In a region as densely populated as the New York metro area, where flash flooding can develop in minutes and threaten lives, having access to high-resolution, real-time radar data is essential for improving our nowcasting capabilities and giving communities the lead time they need to respond,” Temimi said. “It will allow us to provide an important service to our partners, including Offices of Emergency Management (OEMs) at the state and local levels, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service.”
Recent disasters have highlighted why improved hyperlocal forecasting is needed; for example, when Hurricane Ida hit in September 2021 it caused sudden flooding that resulted in dozens of deaths across New York City’s metropolitan area. Researchers from Stevens have published studies showing how granular nowcasting models—those that predict conditions minutes ahead—are necessary during emergencies like these.
Besides operational improvements for public safety agencies,the new system will also be used as an educational resource at Stevens Institute of Technology so students can gain practical experience working directly with real-time meteorological data.
