National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Fresh Snow and Temperature Outlook Ahead of Christmas Day

If you are looking for fresh snow by Christmas morning or are curious about potential travel disruptions, the best chances for at least 1" of new snowfall early this week exist across the mountainous West, Great Lakes, and Northeast. Otherwise, temperatures this last full week of December will average above normal for much of the lower 48 states. Read More >

 

General Information

Beginning Monday, May 9, 2022, the KLOT WSR-88D radar operated by the NOAA National Weather Service in Romeoville, IL, will be down for approximately two weeks as part of the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).

During this downtime, adjacent radars that will continue to provide data over our area include: TORD (O'Hare Airport FAA Terminal Doppler Radar), TMDW (Midway Airport FAA Terminal Doppler Radar), TMKE (Milwaukee FAA Terminal Doppler Radar), KMKX (Milwaukee, WI), KDVN (Davenport/Quad Cities, IA), KILX (Lincoln, IL), KIWX (North Webster, IN), KIND (Indianapolis, IN).  For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites, see the Surrounding Radars section below.    

Pedestal Details

During this outage, the radar's pedestal will be replaced.  The pedestal is a 16 foot tall, approximately 15,000 pound structure (pictured at right), that both supports and turns the large 28 foot diameter, 2,100 pound parabolic dish.  This will require the removal of the protective radar covering, entire parabolic dish, and pedestal.

Because the radar is spinning 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, the pedestal takes on a considerable amount of wear and tear.  Much like preventative maintenance for a car, the pedestal replacement will ensure the radar will continue functioning reliably for decades to come.

Image

Image of the top half of the 16 foot tall, ~15,000 pound pedestal supporting the large 28 foot diameter radar dish. Image courtesy of the Radar Operations Center.

 

 

 

nws logo

 

Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged!
Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site.

 

nws logo