Location
The Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office is located at the Logan County Airport in Lincoln. The office is along state highway 10 east of town, just east of Lincoln Christian University.
What We Do
The Lincoln NWS office provides warnings, forecasts, and other weather and climate information to the public, media, emergency management, and other customers. Our office is open around the clock, 365 days of the year. The Central Illinois WFO is one of 122 that are operated by the National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Our office opened in 1995.
Many of the employees work rotating shifts. Meteorologists prepare graphical, digital, and aviation forecasts, as well as issue weather watches, warnings and advisories. They also monitor weather observations, launch weather balloons, monitor NOAA Weather Radio, operate the Cooperative Observer Network, and provide public service.
Take a virtual tour of our office, a tour of the Doppler radar, and see how we conduct weather balloon launches.
The Lincoln NWS forecast office is responsible for 35 counties across central, east central, and southeast Illinois, covering a total of 19,343 square miles and a population of approximately 1.65 million. Additionally, we serve as the liaison between the NWS offices that cover Illinois, and the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield.
Our County Warning Area includes the cities of Bloomington/Normal, Champaign/Urbana, Decatur, Effingham, Galesburg, Jacksonville, Mattoon, Olney, Peoria, and Springfield.
Our Hydrologic Service Area includes the following rivers in central and southeast Illinois:
There currently are 19 people that work at our office:
Our office opened in 1995, as a merger of the existing NWS offices in Peoria and Springfield. The twice-daily weather balloon launches began in February of that year, and warning operations began in late September. Forecast duties for central Illinois airports were transferred from the Chicago NWS office in April 1996, and we began routine public forecast duties in July 1999.
For a more complete history of weather services, visit the following links:
History of weather services in central Illinois: https://www.weather.gov/ilx/nwshistory
Histories of offices nationwide: https://www.weather.gov/ilx/nws-wb-history
History of upper-air weather observations in Illinois: https://www.weather.gov/ilx/ua-history
By E-mail: | nws.lincoln@noaa.gov |
By Phone: | (217) 732-3089 |
Tours: Tours are best suited for 3rd grade and above.
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Contact: Ed Shimon Phone: (217) 732-3089 ext. 726 E-mail: Edward.Shimon@noaa.gov |
Job Shadows:
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Contact: Andy Taylor Phone: (217) 732-3089 ext. 766 E-mail: Andrew.Taylor@noaa.gov |
Employment Opportunities: