Weather patterns that caused deadly flooding in Central Texas last month sneaked up on weather forecasters, who had been expecting little or no rain in June.

To prevent future surprises, officials are considering a weather-detection grid that would blanket the state with unoccupied observation centers.

For $31.2 million, Texas could have the most-extensive forecasting network in the nation, the Austin American Statesman reported Saturday.

How to pay for the grid is being worked out, but don't be surprised to see a couple of extra pennies attached to your monthly utility bill, perhaps as soon as next year.

Utility officials, regulators and weather forecasters say Texans would reap plenty of benefits for the cost.

"Texas has incredibly varied weather, including our own little ocean injecting tremendous amounts of moisture into the state. But Texas has some of the poorest (weather forecasting) infrastructure in United States,'' said Gary Sickler, a research scientist for Texas A&M University.

In this era of satellites and pinpoint radar, it may be surprising to learn that storms can slip into Texas unannounced. But orbiters and radar stations reporting data to the National Weather Service cannot spot everything, and a finer network of ground-based weather stations is required, Mr. Sickler said.

The proposed network, the Texas MesoNet, would have weather stations spaced about 30 miles apart. Instead of today's sparse network of about 70 stations, the Texas MesoNet would have 700, including detectors that can scan almost three miles up.

The grid could provide frost, heat stress and soil moisture conditions to farmers; monitor air pollution; assess forest fire danger; and aid educational programs from grade school to college, Mr. Sickler said.

Four out of five Texas counties now have no local weather information, Mr. Sickler said. With the MesoNet, "we could pinpoint weather conditions [across the state and improve forecasts] for the next 24 to 36 hours at any location.''

Officials at the Lower Colorado River Authority, which serves more than 1 million utility customers, have said that utility companies could be charged to build the system, perhaps passing the cost on to their customers.

Utility companies use temperature forecasts to decide how much power to generate because electricity use rises on hotter and colder days. If a summer day is hotter than expected, utilities risk running out of power. Generating excess electricity on cooler-than-expected days wastes money.

Eventually, customers pay for higher generating costs, said Mark Rose, general manager of the authority.

Officals at the Texas Public Utility Commission, which regulates utility companies, have said that they are willing to consider the proposed charge to Texans. But Leslie Kjellstrand, a PUC spokeswoman, said a study of the proposal and public hearings would have to be held before any charges are passed on.

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