MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Saturday morning crews were in Millington taking apart the National Weather Service’s radar for an important replacement.
Meteorologist Todd Beal from the forecast office here in Memphis explains the work being done.
“So these radars were commissioned back in the middle to late 90s and to extend the life of the radar the pedestal needs to be replaced and that is why we are out here today.”
The WSR-88D radars are a very important tool for the weather service and ABC24 meteorologists. They feature Dual Pol technology which helps in diagnosing wind speed, direction, and even precipitation types when we have weather here in the Mid-South.
This work that has the radar offline is being done around the country at other National Weather Service offices. The plan is to make sure that the national radar network remains reliable into the future.
When looking at a radar it is hard to miss the large white dome. Inside of this dome, is the equipment that is being replaced.
Underneath the large white dome when fully assembled is normally the radar which consists of a dish and a pedestal. The pedestal is responsible for turning and maneuvering the radar as it scans the sky.
The work that has the radar offline for about 2 weeks should end up extending the radar’s lifespan into the 2030s.
As for choosing January for the replacement, Todd says that this was chosen for a very specific reason.
“These things are scheduled very far in advance. Any further and we are getting into our prime severe weather season when you get into late March, April, and into May so January was the best time for this area to have this replacement be done.”
In the meantime, other radars such as the one that services Memphis International Airport, and neighboring National Weather Service radars will be used as support to track the weather here in the Mid-South.