Miami NWS radar hit by lightning (down until further notice)

[HURAKAN]

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
425 PM EDT FRI SEP 11 2009

...LIGHTNING STRIKE DAMAGE ON NWS DOPPLER RADAR STILL BEING
REPAIRED...

A LIGHTNING STRIKE ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG THUNDERSTORM THAT MOVED
THROUGH SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AROUND 1145 PM EDT WEDNESDAY
NIGHT SEPTEMBER 9 CAUSED CONSIDERABLE ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT DAMAGE TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN MIAMI. BECAUSE
LIGHTNING CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO INTERNAL PARTS OF THE RADAR NOT EASILY
VISIBLE, THE DOPPLER RADAR WILL LIKELY BE UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE
UPCOMING WEEKEND. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELECTRONICS PERSONNEL
WILL BE CONTINUING TO WORK TO REPLACE DAMAGED PARTS AND WIRING.

RADAR COVERAGE OF MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
WATERS WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED AS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER
RADARS AT KEY WEST, MELBOURNE, AND TAMPA BAY WILL BE AVAILABLE ALONG
WITH FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION LOCAL AIRPORT RADARS AT PALM
BEACH INTERNATIONAL, FORT LAUDERDALE HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL, AND
MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS.

FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE ISSUED AS INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

[gatorcane]

now I know why it has been down....thx

[vbhoutex]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it Miami radar that seems to be down the most of any NWS radar, at least that we see announcements about? It just seems to me that we see something about Miami radar being down every few months. Maybe it is a product of the number of S FL posters we have, but that is my impression.

[HURAKAN]

It's very true that the Miami radar is down quite often. Don't know what is the problem. Maybe a lightning strike was needed to fix the true problem!

[brunota2003]

That was my thoughts exactly xD That maybe lightning broke enough that the problem gets replaced as well!

[jinftl]

The NWS Miami was also without their doppler radar for a week this past July as dome tiles were replaced. This could be a sign of things to come for other NWS offices as we enter the 2nd decade of the NEXRAD program.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1220 PM EDT WED JUL 15 2009

...RADOME PANELS TO BE REPLACED AT THE MIAMI WSR-88D DOPPLER RADAR...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WSR-88D DOPPLER RADAR AT MIAMI WILL BE
TAKEN DOWN FROM 8 AM TUESDAY JULY 21 THROUGH PART OF SATURDAY JULY
25 TO REPLACE SEVERAL OLD WORN OUT PANELS OF THE PROTECTIVE OUTER
RADOME. THE RADOME PROTECTS THE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT OF THE RADAR
FROM THE ELEMENTS AND IS CRITICAL TO ITS OPERATION.

A CONTRACTOR WILL BE DOING THE WORK OF REPLACING THE PANELS AS
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE BY WORKING 10 HOUR DAYS. DURING THE REPLACEMENT
OF PANELS, THE RADAR MUST BE SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY.

THERE WILL BE NO GAP IN WEATHER SURVEILLANCE ACROSS MAINLAND SOUTH
FLORIDA DURING THIS TIME BECAUSE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER
RADARS AT KEY WEST, TAMPA BAY, AND MELBOURNE WILL PROVIDE COVERAGE.
IN ADDITION, SUPPLEMENTAL COVERAGE WILL BE PROVIDED BY FEDERAL
AVIATION ADMINISTRATION DOPPLER RADARS AT MIAMI, FORT LAUDERDALE
HOLLYWOOD, AND PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS. RADAR DATA IS
ROUTINELY AVAILABLE FROM ALL OF THESE DOPPLER RADARS AT THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE IN MIAMI.


Of course another infamous time the NWS Miami radar went out was during Hurricane Andrew. This is the image of the last sweep of the radar before the radar was destroyed at 4:35 A.M., August 24, 1992. The radar at the time was located at the former NHC office in Coral Gables. The radar was destroyed around the time the NHC reported sustained winds of 115 mph with a gust to 164 mph, and they were north of the eyewall!

[somethingfunny]

DFW radar is down at the moment. I've got to assume the rain will just be continuing all day.

[HURAKAN]

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
950 PM EDT SUN SEP 13 2009

...LIGHTNING STRIKE DAMAGE ON NWS DOPPLER RADAR STILL BEING
REPAIRED...

A LIGHTNING STRIKE ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG THUNDERSTORM THAT MOVED
THROUGH SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AROUND 1145 PM EDT WEDNESDAY
NIGHT SEPTEMBER 9 CAUSED CONSIDERABLE ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT DAMAGE TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN MIAMI. BECAUSE
LIGHTNING CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO INTERNAL PARTS OF THE RADAR NOT EASILY
VISIBLE, THE DOPPLER RADAR WILL LIKELY BE UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE
THE FIRST PART OF THE WEEK. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELECTRONICS
PERSONNEL WILL BE CONTINUING TO WORK TO REPLACE DAMAGED PARTS AND
WIRING. IT IS UNCERTAIN WHEN THE RADAR WILL BECOME OPERATIONAL.

RADAR COVERAGE OF MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL
WATERS WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED AS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER
RADARS AT KEY WEST, MELBOURNE, AND TAMPA BAY WILL BE AVAILABLE ALONG
WITH FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION LOCAL AIRPORT RADARS AT PALM
BEACH INTERNATIONAL, FORT LAUDERDALE HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL, AND
MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS.

FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE ISSUED AS INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

[artist]

yeah, I hope this will fix its ongoing problems. It is constantly down. Any major storms seem to take it out, sometimes briefly, but usually for several hours.