It's actually a two-dimensional view...
One down, one to go.
The National Weather Service office in Tulsa is halfway through its upgrade of the radars in its forecast area to dual polarization radar. (I wrote about dual-pol radar last week, so click
here for a refresher.)
Dual polarization upgrades to the Fort Smith radar site (KSRX) were completed Monday. It is now producing dual-pol data. That’s really exciting! The upgrade began Sept. 6 and was completed four days later, way ahead of schedule. That’s great news, because during the upgrade the radars are offline.
Now, NWS Tulsa officials say the Tulsa area radar site (KINX) is due to begin its upgrade Wednesday. Officials said the radar could be down for as many as 12 days during the upgrade, but like KSRX and other radars across the country, it could take less time than that.
If the schedule stays, KINX would be down for at least the rest of the week, meaning the Tulsa radar would be down when a cold front comes through Thursday and Friday, bring a
chance of thunderstorms to the area.
When the remnants of Hurricane Isaac came through Arkansas, NWS Tulsa officials delayed the upgrade at KSRX. So, it could be delayed, but it looks like the process is go.
Just because the Tulsa radar is down doesn’t mean the forecasters will be flying blind. Fort Smith radar, Oklahoma City radar, Vance Air Force Base radar and Wichita radar would help fill in the gaps.
Once the Tulsa upgrade is complete, forecasters will have just a plethora of data to dig through from eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. And judging from the forecaster I spoke with for my story, they are stoked. Christmas came early this year!
For more an dual-pol, I had to share this. NOAA Weather Partners put together this video that is as informative as it is cheesy. Like, almost cringe-worthy in its cheese. It's a must-watch.
-Jerry Wofford
