John Reynolds Staff Writer @JohnReynoldsSJR

LINCOLN The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lincoln will be down this week for the installation of technological upgrades.

The work is scheduled to begin Monday and could last three to four days. The project will be delayed if hazardous weather is on the way, but the latest forecast does not anticipate any weather problems.

Most of (the) week looks to be dry, so it looks like a good time to do this, said James Auten, a meteorologist in Lincoln.

During the outage, radar coverage will be available online from adjacent radar sites including Chicago/Romeoville; Davenport, Iowa; St. Louis; Paducah, Kentucky; and Evansville, Indiana.

The general public isnt the only group that watches the weather radar out of Lincoln.

Springfield Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs said his department gets daily emails from the weather service on the days forecast and it also goes online to check the radar when storms are predicted.

We watch the radar to see the paths of the storms that are coming toward our area, Helmerichs said.

The upgrade will include a new signal processor, which will improve processing speed and data quality, add functionality and increase IT security, Auten said.

According to the National Weather Service, this is the first of four major upgrades, known as service life extension projects, planned in the next five years to replace and refurbish major components of the radar and keep it operational into the 2030s.

Auten said similar upgrades are taking place at radar sites across the country.

The $150 million nationwide investment is being made by the three organizations that operate the radars, the NOAA National Weather Service, the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Auten said the average person watching the radar online at the weather services website shouldnt notice any difference.

What it is, weve already added some new products and upgraded internal software. We are asking the system to do more work, but we havent upgraded some of the mechanical stuff that will allow the system to continue working for the next 15 years or so, Auten said.

Contact John Reynolds: john.reynolds@sj-r.com, 788-1524, twitter.com/JohnReynoldsSJR.

Read the rest here:

Weather radar going off-line for upgrades - The State Journal-Register