Paducah radar upgrade this week

Thunderstorms and Heavy Rains Across Portions of the Central and Eastern US; Heat Expands to Portions of the East

Widespread showers and thunderstorms, some severe, may produce heavy downpours and flash flooding across much of the eastern and central U.S. Dangerous heat will continue in the Pacific Northwest and expand across portions of the East. Deep tropical moisture and associated thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding across portions of Florida into the central Gulf Coast. Read More >

...KPAH Radar Will Be Down For Major Upgrade... The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah Kentucky, KPAH, will be down for approximately four days beginning Monday July 10th 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. During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including Owensville Indiana (KVWX), Ft Campbell (KHPX), Louisville Kentucky (KLVX), Memphis Tennessee (KMEG), and St Louis Missouri (KLSX). 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 the 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.