Radar Down for Refurbishment through Saturday

The KMKX radar at the National Weather Service office near Sullivan will be unavailable for approximately five days beginning on Tuesday, August 7th through Saturday, August 11th, 2018. Technicians will refurbish the transmitter and help to keep the radar operating smoothly for another 20 years.

Although the form, fit, and function of the transmitter will remain the same, old breakers and cables original to the radar will be replaced with modern fuses and new cables. This transmitter update is the second major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program, a series of upgrades and replacements that will keep our nation’s radars viable into the 2030’s. NOAA National Weather Service, the United States Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration are investing $150 million in the seven year program. The first project was the installation of the new signal processor. The two remaining projects are the refurbishment of the pedestal and equipment shelters. The Service Life Extension Program will complete in 2022. The KMKX WSR-88D is part of a network of 159 operational radars. The Radar Operations Center in Norman, Oklahoma, provides lifecycle management and support for all WSR-88Ds.

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/full.php

During the downtime, adjacent radars include: Terminal Doppler-Milwaukee (TMKE), Green Bay (KGRB), La Crosse, (KARX), Davenport (KDVN), and Chicago (KLOT). For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites, go to the following web page: https://radar.weather.gov/. For a radar mosaic loop: https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/full_loop.php.

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, Wisconsin can be found on social media at Facebook and Twitter.