A Tour of the Doppler Radar

Our radar tower is highly visible to travelers along state highway 10 east of Lincoln, and can also be seen from parts of I-55 as well. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We've put together a short tour of how the radar operates. (Click images to enlarge.)

Our radar tower is about 100 feet from the ground to the base of the dome at the top. The dome itself is 39 feet tall. Inside, the radar antenna is 28 feet in diameter.

Looking up from the base of the radar tower.

Step 1 is to turn off the radar (VERY important!).

The stairs leading up the tower have landings at approximately 15-foot intervals. This picture of our office, facing northwest, was taken at the 45-foot level.

Viewing our office from the 75-foot level of the tower. Here's a link to a short video showing a panoramic view from this elevation.

Our office is along the south edge of the Logan County Airport (KAAA) grounds. This picture, facing north, shows the airport from the 75-foot level of our tower. The Railsplitter Wind Farm, about 7-10 miles to the north, was visible from this level, but does not show up very well on the picture.

Looking northeast from the radar. The office is directly surrounded by farm fields on 3 sides, with additional fields southeast across Highway 10.

Kyle, one of our electronics technicians, is standing at the 90-foot level of the tower. We have two electronics technicians assigned to our office. When parts need to be repaired on the radar, it can be difficult to bring them all the way up to the top.

The radar hatch, at the base of the radome, is 100 feet off the ground.

A panoramic view inside the radome. The radar antenna, which has a diameter of 28 feet, is shown at left.

A close-up view of the radar pedestal, which holds the radar antenna. The speed of the rotation depends on the operating mode of the radar. On a quiet day, it will take about 10 minutes to complete a full scan (called a "volume control pattern"). In severe weather, a full scan is completed in just over 4 minutes.