National Weather Service Bismarck WSR-88D Will Be Out Of Service For An Upgrade

Beginning Monday, March 29, 2021, the KBIS Weather Surveillance Radar 88-Doppler (WSR-88D) operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service (NOAA’s NWS) in Bismarck, ND will be out of service approximately two weeks for an upgrade. Technicians will refurbish and replace the pedestal, one of the most critical components of the radar, which is necessary for antenna rotation and positioning to gather data in all directions. The components are extremely heavy and require a crane to remove and replace them. The KMBX WSR-88D near Minot, ND will undergo the same upgrade beginning around April 19, 2021.

The radar and pedestal were designed to last 25 years, and have exceeded their life-span. This upgrade will keep the radar functioning for another 25 years.

The pedestal refurbishment is the third major project of the WSR-88D Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), a series of upgrades that will keep our nation’s radars viable well into the future. NOAA’s NWS, the United States Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration are investing $135 million in the SLEP. The first project was the installation of the new signal processor and the second was the refurbishment of the transmitter. The fourth project will be the refurbishment of the equipment shelters. The entire SLEP will be completed in 2023.

During the outage you can monitor adjacent radars including: KMBX near Minot, ND, KMVX near Mayville, ND, KABR at Aberdeen, SD, KUDX near Rapid City, SD, and KGGW at Glasgow, MT. For direct access to any of these surrounding radars, go to: https://radar.weather.gov

The KBIS WSR-88D is part of a network of 159 WSR-88Ds that are managed and supported by the Radar Operations Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service in Bismarck can be found online at: www.weather.gov/bis and on social media at: www.facebook.com/NWSBismarck and www.twitter.com/NWSBismarck. 

Primary Contacts:

Jeffrey Savadel, Meteorologist In Charge

jeffrey.savadel@noaa.gov

Chris Feller, Electronic Systems Analyst

chris.feller@noaa.gov

Alex Edwards, Radar Focal Point

alex.edwards@noaa.gov

NOAA’s NWS Bismarck, ND

701-250-4224