The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service announced today that it will shut down its Doppler weather radar system for approximately five days beginning Oct. 21 for maintenance.
According to a news release the office issued, technicians will replace old breakers and cables original to the radar with modern fuses and new cables. The NWS said this will help keep the 20-year-old radar operating smoothly for another 20 years.
This transmitter update is the second major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program, a series of upgrades and replacements designed to keep the nation’s radars viable into the 2030’s. NOAA National Weather Service, the United States Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration are investing $150 million in the seven year program. The first project was the installation of the new signal processor. The two remaining projects are the refurbishment of the pedestal and equipment shelters. The Service Life Extension Program will complete in 2022.
During the downtime, usable adjacent radars include: NWS Chicago (KLOT), NWS Grand Rapids (KGRR), NWS Indianapolis (KIND), NWS Detroit (KDTX) and Terminal Doppler Weather Radars located at Detroit (TDTW), Midway (TMDW) and Dayton (TDAY). For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites, go to the following web page: https://radar.weather.gov/index.htm.
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