Champaign NOAA Weather Radio Outage Update (September 4th)

NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ-76 in Champaign, serving east central Illinois on a frequency of 162.550 MHz, remains out of service. 

September 4th Update: 

Where are we now in the process of getting it back online? What’s next? 

The lease negotiations continue with the new tower location. After this is completed, a structural analysis will be done to ensure the tower can support our NOAA Weather Radio Transmitters antenna. Once the structural analysis is done, we will then execute the lease. Once the lease is executed, technicians will travel to Champaign and install the transmitter. The installation of the antenna and coaxial cable on the tower will be scheduled by the tower crew according to their schedule and the weather.  

When do you think it will return to service? 

At the very earliest, we are looking at mid to late November before the site will be operational. The tower work is highly dependent on weather conditions at the site, and prolonged inclement weather would further delay the return to service.

Why is it taking so long? 

We must ensure that the lease honors all existing laws and agreements before moving forward. While we continue through the process, we encourage residents to have multiple ways to receive a warning including enabling wireless emergency alerts on your mobile phone, monitoring local broadcast media, and using trusted weather applications on your mobile phone. 

How are residents of Eastern IL supposed to receive warnings if the NOAA Weather Radio is down? 

While NOAA Weather Radio is one of the most reliable weather warning tools available, we strongly advise residents to have multiple means of receiving key weather information, whenever possible. This includes ensuring Wireless Emergency Alerts are enabled on your mobile phone, monitoring local broadcast media, and using trusted weather applications on your mobile phone.

Warning information for Champaign and Piatt Counties is temporarily being broadcast on the Springfield NOAA Weather Radio station (WXJ-75, 162.400 MHz) in order to facilitate distribution over the Emergency Alert System (for local radio and TV stations to forward to the public). 

We HIGHLY recommend that people have multiple ways to receive weather warnings and information.  Forecasts, watches and warnings for Central Illinois can also be found on:

• NWS Lincoln webpage:   http://www.weather.gov/Lincoln
   
• Mobile devices:   mobile.weather.gov
   
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/NWSLincoln
   
• Twitter:   https://twitter.com/NWSLincolnIL
   
• AlertSense: A service provided by Champaign County can relay emergency alerts and weather warnings via text message to cell phones or email to any email address. These alerts are provided free of charge, however standard text messaging rates and other charges may apply. To sign-up, go to: http://www.champaigncountyema.org/
   
• Smart Phones:    Most smart phone users receive Tornado Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings from the National Weather Service through the Wireless Emergency Alerts technology provided by nearly all cell phone providers. This feature is enabled on most cellular devices, with no setup or software to download. The emergency messages are broadcast through cell towers at no cost to the consumer.

Several nearby NOAA Weather Radio transmitters also serve portions of the WXJ-76 listening area. None of these cover Champaign County (fringes of the county may receive a signal at times, but not reliable enough to use warning alarm tones). Maps are available by county (click images to enlarge), or by looking at the table below the maps (the table lists which counties are covered by these other transmitters). Only the channel number needs to be changed on your radio receiver. Your county number will not change (though if you have multiple counties programmed into your receiver, some may not be available on the new transmitter). 

Champaign County	Coles County	De Witt County
Douglas County	Edgar County	Ford County
Moultrie County	Piatt County	Vermilion County

If you have any comments or questions, please contact our Meteorologist-in-Charge, Ernie Goetsch at ernest.goetsch@noaa.gov or Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Chris Miller at chris.miller@noaa.gov .

We will provide updates on the status of the Champaign NOAA Weather Radio transmitter through Public Information Statements as well as on our web page and social media, as more information becomes available.