Early Spring Heat Wave in the Southwest U.S.; Critical Fire Weather in the Central Rockies and Plains

An unusual early Spring heat wave will continue much above-normal temperatures over the Southwest U.S. through early next week. Periods of critical fire weather will persist from the central Rockies to the central Plains through the weekend as gusty winds and low relative humidity continue. 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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