PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) – The National Weather Service radar near Pittsburgh International Airport is off-line for the start of this week. It means there is less detail of precipitation on Pittsburgh weather maps you see on your phone or computer.
Meteorologist Lee Hendricks says the region still has radar coverage. "You'll still see some of it because we do have three radars that have some coverage of the Pittsburgh area." That coverage comes from radar in Cleveland, State College, and Charleston, West Virginia. The upgrade is expected to be complete by Wednesday night.
The WSR 88-D radar here was installed in 1993. Hendricks says the last software and equipment upgrade was about six years ago.
"A lot of wear and tear when you have a radar antenna that's 12 feet across rotating 24 hours a day."
The tower is 60 feet in the air and sits off Shafer Road in Moon Township.
"The radar antenna itself is about 12 feet across but the dome we have up there is about 18 feet across. It looks like a big soccer ball," said Hendricks.
He says most private weather companies use the National Weather Service radar.
The Moon Township unit is one of 120 National Weather Service radars across the United States.
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