CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s radar system is getting an upgrade.
Technicians are refurbishing and replacing the pedestal at the radar tower near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport – one of the most critical components of the radar, which officials say is needed for antenna rotation / positioning to capture the data in all directors.
“The components are extremely heavy and will require the radome to be removed by crane and replaced when the work is completed,” according to an e-mail earlier this week from Patrick Saunders of the National Weather Service in Cleveland.
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The radome, which can only be removed with wind gusts less than 18 mph, is expected to happen Thursday.
“The radar and pedestal were designed to last 25 years, and this radar has exceeded its life span,” Saunders explained. “This activity is necessary to keep the radar functioning for another 20 years or more. The pedestal refurbishment is the fourth and final major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), a series of upgrades that will keep our nation's radars viable into the 2030s.”
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on March 9, 2022.