NWS Blacksburg Doppler Radar Will Be Down Until the End of August

NWS Blacksburg WSR-88D Doppler Radar Down Through The End of August

The KFCX WSR-88D Doppler radar operated by the NOAA National Weather Service in Blacksburg, VA will be down through the end of August for the repair a major mechanical component.

An engineering team from the Radar Operations Center (ROC) in Norman, Oklahoma, determined today that the bull gear, the primary gear for turning the radar antenna, is failing. This repair will require 12,000 to 15,000 pounds of equipment and a six-person team from the ROC to restore the radar. Due to a radar outage at Wilmington, OH requiring the team’s assistance, work on the Blacksburg radar will tentatively begin around August 16th with an anticipated restoration of service by August 30th.

The NWS Blacksburg WSR-88D can be used ONLY when absolutely necessary to address an imminent significant and widespread severe weather and/or hydrologic event. Even then, running the radar for any period of time risks causing an even more egregious system failure which would further extend system down time.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including ( Raleigh, NC (KRAX); Wakefield, VA (KAKQ); Sterling, VA (KLWX); Charleston, WV (KRLX); Morristown, TN (KMRX); and Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (KGSP) .

The Blacksburg, VA WSR-88D is 22 years old and part of a network of 159 operational radars. The radars are supported by three federal agencies: NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration. The Radar Operations Center provides lifecycle management and support for all WSR-88Ds.

For a radar mosaic loop for the region:

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/centgrtlakes.php

https://www.weather.gov/crh/radar

This statement will be updated when new information is received on radar status.

If you would like to speak to someone at the NWS Blacksburg office, please call our office at 540-552-0084.

The National Weather Service’s Blacksburg Forecast Office is the primary source of weather data, forecast and warnings for about 1.7 million people in parts of southeast West Virginia, western Virginia and northwest North Carolina. Join us on Facebook at: www.fb.com/NWSBlacksburg and Twitter at: @NWSBlacksburg.