Need an idea when to chase?

[Andrew Geil]

Lincoln Doppler Radar Outage Scheduled for Week of May 22

Data from the National Weather Service Doppler Radar in Lincoln will not be available from May 22-24, and may be sporadic on May 25-26, due to scheduled system upgrades. A team of radar technicians from Norman, Oklahoma will install new equipment starting at 8 am CDT Monday, May 22. The radar is expected to be back in full service by 5 pm CDT Friday, May 26.

The radar improvements being made on the Lincoln radar are part of a national effort to modernize the National Weather Service network of Doppler radars. During the scheduled outage, radar experts will install new hardware and software at the transmitter, which will ultimately improve radar performance. Although Doppler radar software has become more sophisticated and display capabilities have steadily improved during the past decade, this is the first time that major changes are being made at the transmitter. The new radar components are part of a modular design, which will make it easier to implement future system upgrades. This will also pave the way for the next advancements in radar technology.

During the radar outage, users of the Lincoln radar should use neighboring network radar sites for information. The best radar coverage will depend on what area you are interested in:

* Chicago, IL (areas around Bloomington and north along I-39)
* Davenport, IA (areas around Galesburg, Peoria, Lincoln, and Havana)
* St. Louis, MO (Beardstown to Decatur southward)
* Indianapolis, IN (areas around Champaign, Danville, and Paris)
* Evansville, IN (Shelbyville and Mattoon into southeast Illinois)

The regional mosaic can also be used to determine best coverage, depending on the direction of movement of the rain.[/b]

Not a good time for severe weather. Good thing they have coverage elsewhere.

 

[rdale]

Strangely enough that everyone in the bus thought this was a horrible time to do these install -- seems to have been the best choice given the status of this season!

 

[David Draun]

Right now, the KLOT radar is down, possibly until Friday. There is a minimal chance of severe weather across the area tomorrow. However the threat will probably be greater due to the radar outage, LOL. A tornado will probably hit the metro area during rush hour. <_<