NWS Cleveland planned radar outage

NWS Cleveland planned radar outage

Beginning Thursday, April 15, 2021, the KCLE WSR-88D weather radar operated by the NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Office in Cleveland, OH, will be down for approximately seven days for technicians to install a new generator and refurbish the building that it is in. This activity is important to support the radar's operation during periods of commercial power outages, specifically when hazardous weather is present. We anticipate the radar will be back up and operational by Thursday, April 22, 2021.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including TLVE - Cleveland, KDTX - Detroit, KIWX - North Webster, KILN - Wilmington, KPBZ - Pittsburgh, and KBUF - Buffalo.

This is the third of four major upgrades, known as service life extension projects (SLEPs), being completed between 2017 and 2022 to replace and refurbish major components of the 20 year old WSR-88Ds and to keep the radars operational into the 2030s. The $150M investment is being made by the three organizations that use these radars: the NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration. The final SLEP includes the pedestal refurbishment, which is planned to be completed in March 2022.

For more information on the SLEP projects, visit this website provide by the Radar Operations Center: https://www.roc.noaa.gov/WSR88D/SLEP/SLEP.aspx

If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Saunders at patrick.saunders@noaa.gov