Fire Weather Concerns for the Plains; Record Warmth Spreads

Dry and breezy conditions prevail across the High Plains where elevated to locally critical conditions continue through today. Meanwhile, record warmth increases and spreads across the South, Southwest and into southern California into this last weekend of February. Meanwhile, a fast moving system moves across the central Plains then off the mid-Atlantic by this evening. Read More >

The Doppler weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Marquette (MQT) will be out of service for approximately four days beginning Monday, October 3, 2016, for technicians to install an important technological upgrade.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including Duluth, MN (DLH), Green Bay, WI (GRB), and Gaylord, MI (APX).

A crew will install a new signal processor, which replaces obsolete technology, improves processing speed and data quality, provides added functionality, and supports IT security.

This is the first of four major upgrades, known as service life extension projects, planned in the next five years 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 other service life extension projects include refurbishing the transmitter, pedestal, and equipment shelters.

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