National Weather Service Raw Text Product

501 
NOUS42 KTBW 211948
PNSTBW
FLZ043-050-052-056-057-061-139-142-148-149-151-155-160-162-165-
239-242-248-249-251-255-260-262-265-282000-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
348 PM EDT Tue Apr 21 2020

...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANNOUNCES RADAR OUTAGE DURING MAJOR 
UPGRADE...

Beginning April 28, 2020 the KTBW WSR-88D radar operated by the
NOAA National Weather Service in Ruskin, FL will be down for
approximately nine 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 forth major project of the NEXRAD
Service Life Extension Program to be completed on the KTBW radar,
a series of upgrades and replacements that will keep our
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. Earlier projects were the installation of the new signal
processor and the refurbishments of the transmitter and pedestal.
The Service Life Extension Program will complete in 2023. 

During the downtime, adjacent radars include: NWS Melbourne
(KMLB), NWS Jacksonville (KJAX), Tallahassee (KTLH), and NWS Miami
(KAMX). For direct access to any of these surrounding radar sites,
go to the following web page: https://radar.weather.gov/index.htm. 

The KTBW 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 in Ruskin, Florida can be found on
social media at https://www.facebook.com/NWSTampaBay and
https://twitter.com/NWSTampaBay.

$$