Davenport NWS radar shuts down March 11 for a week

Forecasters will rely on Chicago, Des Moines and other radars

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The National Weather Service's Davenport radar will shut down March 11 about a week  to replace the generator that keeps it running during power outages.

NWS meteorologist Rich Kinney said the Davenport office will rely on NWS radars in LaCrosse and Milwaukee, Wisc., Chicago and Lincoln, Ill., St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., and Des Moines.

Here is the March 5 statement from Kinney:

Beginning Thursday, March 11, the KDVN WSR-88D radar operated by the National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa will be down for approximately seven days for the replacement of the generator, fuel tanks, and accompanying components. This activity is important to support the radar’s operation during periods of commercial power outages, specifically when hazardous weather is present.

This generator update is the fifth major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program, a series of upgrades and replacements that will keep our nation’s radars viable into the 2030’s. The 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 and the second project was the transmitter refurbishment. The two remaining projects are the refurbishment of the pedestal and equipment shelters. The Service Life Extension Program will complete in 2023.

During the downtime, adjacent radars include: KARX, La Crosse, WI, KMKX, Milwaukee, WI, KLOT, Chicago, IL, KILX, Lincoln, IL, KLSX, St. Louis, MO, KEAX, Kansas City, MO, and KDMX, Des Moines, IA. For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites, go to the following web page: https://radar.weather.gov/

The KDVN WSR-88D is part of a network of 159 operational radars. The Radar Operations Center in Norman, Oklahoma, provides lifecycle management and support for all WSR-88Ds.

The National Weather Service, Quad Cities can be found on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/NWSQuadCities and @NWSQuadCities.

radar, NWS, national weather service

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