Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

The KMKX WSR-88D operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, Wisconsin will be down for approximately two weeks for an important upgrade from March 28th through April 8th. Technicians will refurbish and replace the pedestal, one of the most critical components of the radar, which is necessary for antenna rotation and positioning to capture data in all directions. The components are extremely heavy and will require the radome to be removed by crane and replaced when the work is completed.

Here's an example of what will be happening to our radar over the next 2 weeks: youtu.be/HLLIH5kHD6Q

The radar and pedestal were designed to last 25 years, and this radar has exceeded its life-span. This activity is necessary to keep the radar functioning for another 20 years or more.

The pedestal refurbishment is the third major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program, a series of upgrades that will keep our nation’s radars viable into the 2030s. To learn more about SLEP, please visit: Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) (noaa.gov)

During the downtime, adjacent radars will be available, including: Milwaukee Terminal Doppler (TMKE), Green Bay (KGRB), La Crosse (KARX), Davenport/Quad Cities (KDVN), and Chicago/Romeoville (KLOT). For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites, visit the following web page: https://radar.weather.gov/

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Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

KMKX Radar Outage through April 8th