News Climate

Wi-Fi threatens weather forecasts

Wireless technologies increasingly interfere with storm-monitoring radar, meteorologists warn

weather radar screen

OBSTRUCTED VIEW  Interference from nearby wireless technology sources increasingly blemishes weather radar, meteorologists say. Unlicensed equipment created the blue slice of interference in this 2013 radar image from New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport, obscuring legitimate weather data (blue patches).

NOAA

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

Wireless technology dangerously clutters the airwaves that meteorologists rely on to monitor thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes, blacking out large swaths of weather radar maps.