Rainy days and Dopplers. (The Roving Eye).

IT'S a paradox of Southern California: everyone seems caught up in the weather, despite there being so little of it. The latest example of this fixation comes from KABC-TV Channel 7, which recently invested in a super-Doppler radar system that can provide real-time precipitation activity within a 200-mile radius, right down to individual streets.

KABC newscasts and the station's Web site have been touting the recent introduction of "LIVE Doppler 7000." Other local stations provide slightly delayed information that comes from National Weather Service radar.

"We know our viewers are very interested in the weather," said William Burton, KABC's director of programming, advertising and promotion. "Even a storm here is big news."

Doppler radar systems are commonly found in stormier climes, like the Midwest. WBNS-TV Channel 10 in Columbus, Ohio, has two radar systems and a "Doppler 10 Team."

While sudden storms aren't all that frequent in Southern California (and this season has been especially dry so far), KABC could use its Doppler radar to pinpoint the timing and location of hail and gusty winds, said Mike Davis, chief meteorologist at WBNS. "It's commendable that a station would do that, especially if they're not going to get the return on it that we do here," Davis said.

Brent Bower, a meteorologist and hydrologist at the National Weather Service, said the Oxnard-based facility finds plenty of use for its Doppler radar.

"We issue flood warnings (for Southern California) almost every year, usually several times a year," Bower said. "It happens more often than people think."