Flood alert radar site complete

The radar station has been built near Sunderland

Construction of a £1m weather radar station, to better protect the north-east of England against flooding, has been completed on Wearside.

The Met Office, Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency helped fund the region's first station, at High Moorsley, near Sunderland.

It will send and receive signals, which will measure where and how hard rain is falling and moving.

Recent flooding has highlighted the need for improved rainfall data.

Severe weather

Environment Minister Hilary Benn toured the site on Monday ahead of the stations connection to a network of computers later this year.

A 6.2m diameter ball (radome), made from double-skinned fibre glass with a foam centre, will protect the "eyes and ears" of the radar and is raised off the ground by an 11m galvanised steel tower.

Rob Varley, director of government business for the Met Office, said: "If we are to deliver improved warnings of severe weather we need improvements of this sort to our observations network."

Graham Neave, Northumbrian Water's operations director, said: "The new weather radar will provide detailed information and help us better plan and prioritise flood alleviation work."

Ian Hodge, the Environment Agency's area flood risk manager, added: "The radar will provide us with significant improvements to our flood forecasting capabilities, allowing more accurate and timely flood warnings for communities at risk in the North East."