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Additional Heavy Rain and Flooding Concerns in Central Texas; Tropical Storm Chantal to Impact the Coastal Carolinas

Heavy rainfall and flooding concerns remain for today across Central Texas and the Hill Country, with scattered thunderstorms expected this afternoon and evening. Tropical Storm Chantal has formed and will bring heavy rainfall and flooding concerns to portions of the coastal Carolinas. Life-threatening surf and rip currents are expected from the Southeast to Mid-Atlantic. Read More >

During the middle of September 2001, the weather radar at NWS Spokane got a new paint job. The pictures below show the daring feats that the painters undertook in order to complete the job. The actual radar dish is inside this large white ball (known as a radome). The radome is designed to protect the radar from the weather elements. As you can see from the pictures, it looks a bit like a soccer ball. When it was initially assembled back in February 1996, the radome was shipped in the pieces you can see, and then assembled on the ground before a crane lifted it into place. The radome has a hatch door at the very top. This allows the maintainence crews to climb onto the top of the radome, and then hang from support ropes while painting.

 

Workers painting radar dome
Workers painting radar dome
Workers painting radar dome