Weather Radar in Nome, Alaska (PAEC) Gets Upgrade

Contact:

Melissa Kreller (Acting Meteorologist In Charge)

Melissa.Kreller@noaa.gov

907-458-3730

The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Fairbanks, AK will be down for approximately one week beginning August 23rd for technicians to install an important technological upgrade. The work on the WSR-88D has been scheduled to minimize any potential impacts to office operations and will be delayed if hazardous weather is forecast.

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.

The tri-agency Radar Operations Center, which supports the radars, estimates it will take about 10 months to upgrade the signal processor on all 159 operational WSR-88Ds.

A tentative deployment schedule is available:  http://www.roc.noaa.gov/WSR88D/PublicDocs/SLEP/ECP0437SigProcSLEPDeploySched.pdf

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