US NEXRAD Radar Operations Center

Kudos to our team working hard at KLCH Lake Charles since early January to install electronic components inside the radome. An initial test of the electronic/mechanical equipment is expected to occur by end of next week, but no data will be available at that time. The radar could be fully operational by the end of January!

Fence work completed yesterday at KLCH. Just a few more tasks to finish inside the radome before the crew takes a break for the holidays. Work will resume in early January.

Yesterday, more equipment was installed on the antenna. And the perimeter fence was replaced.

This past weekend, the crew assembled the KLCH antenna inside the radome

More photos from Friday's pedestal installation at KLCH

Major progress today at KLCH! The radome was removed, new pedestal installed, and the radome replaced atop the tower. Now the crew will begin assembling the antenna inside the radome.

One of the KLCH shelters suffered major water damage to the floor from Hurricane Laura. Yesterday, the crew removed the rotted materials and began installing new wood subflooring and tiles.

Yesterday, the crew at KLCH (Lake Charles) completed torquing the 1000+ radome bolts. They also started caulking the seams of the radome panels, which will continue into today.

Here's the new radome on KLCH! Still plenty of work to do, as the radar won't return to service until March 2021, but this is great progress!

Great progress this weekend to assemble the radome at KLCH WSR-88D! At a later time, the newly assembled radome will be removed and placed on the ground to allow the pedestal to be installed. The radome will then be replaced atop the tower.

More progress yesterday at KLCH (Lake Charles). The old generator was removed, shelter floor was cleaned/prepped, and a new floor liner was installed. New generator and fuel tanks will be installed over the next several days. KLCH is receiving generator SLEP now, while the radar is still down, to avoid downtime once the system returns to operation. The new generator is critical to providing power to the radar during commercial power outages.

Exciting News: Restoration efforts of the Lake Charles, LA NEXRAD (KLCH) began this week! The new antenna was delivered in crates and will take several days to assemble. Crew began work on the fence, and applied an initial coat of rust inhibitor on the outer ring of the radome. Complete restoration will take a few months. This initial phase will continue through the end of the year. Second phase will begin in Jan, and involve installation/testing of electronic components. Estimate is return to service by end of March.

A team of our technicians is headed to Colorado to repair the KFTG (Denver) WSR-88D! Read more: https://www.weather.gov/bou/radaroutage