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Scott County approves one-year subscription to Baron ThreatNet weather service
Summary
Fiscal Court approved a one-year subscription to Baron ThreatNet to access closer Doppler radar and street-by-street weather data, officials said, with five desktop seats and unlimited mobile access.
Scott County Fiscal Court approved a one-year subscription to Baron ThreatNet on a voice vote during its June 26 meeting after staff said the service will provide higher-resolution, local radar data.
County staff member Mike Hennigan described the problem the county currently faces and why the new feed matters. "The radar that we have to use in order to make those decisions is based in Louisville ... each one of them is over 75 miles away from Scott County," Hennigan said. He told the court that those distant radars effectively show conditions several thousand feet above the county and that a local feed provides a clearer picture of conditions closer to the surface.
Hennigan said the subscription would use data routed from a radar located on Russell Cave Road and would include "five desktop operations and unlimited mobile applications." He said the county would be able to see storms at street level and review seven days of historical data to verify reported lightning strikes or other events.
During questions, a court member asked whether the service would replace the Louisville feed. Hennigan replied it would allow the county to "look at our own radar instead of using the National Weather Service websites." He gave an example from a recent storm, saying the county-level view showed impacts limited to a few streets rather than the whole southern part of the county.
Dwayne Ellison moved for a one-year commitment; Rick Hostetler seconded. The court voted in favor by voice vote; the judge recorded the motion as passed. The court also discussed asking about renewal pricing and whether a three-year option would be available in the future.
County officials said local emergency responders would be able to use the mobile app: "They put it on their phone, have the phone app, and ... they would have 99% of the functionality," Hennigan said, noting some archiving features would remain at the county level.
The subscription is intended to support more targeted warnings, siren activations and road-condition alerts for specific neighborhoods. Court members said the service could be particularly useful in emergency notifications.
A staff member said the county intends to evaluate the service during the one-year term and consider longer commitments only after assessing operational value.
