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Heavy Snow Across the Northern Plains and Great Lakes; Strong Winds for the East

Travel conditions will be challenging across the northern Plains, Great Lakes and east coast through Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Heavy snow, blizzard conditions, for the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region through Thanksgiving to be followed by another strong storm for the Plains, Great Lakes and Northeast this weekend. Strong winds are expected with these systems adding to travel difficulties 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.