Angola council says tornado went undetected by radar, approves transfer to repair radios

Angola City Council members were briefed Monday on why the National Weather Service did not issue a warning for a recent tornado and approved a budget transfer to pay for repairs to aging radio equipment.

The presiding official said the tornado was not picked up by the weather-service radar because “basically, they did not see it” and it was too short-lived to register, leaving the city without a local warning, the council was told. Staff added that the NOAA radio transmitter serving the area has been low-power and that parts and a contractor are available; they expect the unit to be repaired within a week or two.

The council approved Resolution No. 2026-902 to transfer appropriations into the general fund so underspent vehicle-purchase savings can be reallocated to vehicle repairs and radio replacements. A council member said vehicle purchases came in under budget and the chief had requested moving funds into repairs, noting that “we had 2 radios go down in a week's time,” and that individual radios cost about $4,000 each. Council discussion clarified the city is responsible for its equipment on a countywide radio system.

Why it matters: The council’s action moves money to address failing emergency-communications equipment after an incident in which a tornado went undetected by radar and the local NOAA radio feed was described as low-power. Restoring local alerting and replacing aging radios are steps the city said are needed to improve first-responder communications.

The resolution passed on a voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the minutes. Staff said the mayor will sign the transfer and staff will coordinate procurement and repairs.