NWS upgrades to cause local NOAA Radio Outage
This is due to the required, scheduled upgrade to the office's Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) happening at various times to all offices around the country.
The AWIPS system is utilized to display and integrate weather and water information as well as to send life-saving information including weather warnings to the public.
The upgrades will begin at around 7:00 A.M. on Tuesday, June 3rd and last through approximately 4:00p on Thursday, June 5th.
One major impact of this upgrade is all NOAA Weather Radio transmitters operated through the NWS Office in Lincoln will be offline during that time.
Those impacted towers that will be offline and unavailable to use from Tuesday through Thursday are:
Bloomington: KZZ-65 (162.525 MHz, channel 6)
Champaign: WXJ-76 (162.550 MHz, channel 7)
Galesburg: KZZ-66 (162.400 MHz, channel 1)
Jacksonville: WXM-90 (162.525 MHz, channel 6)
Newton: KXI-48 (162.450 MHz, channel 3)
Paris: KXI-47 (162.525 MHz, channel 6)
Peoria: WXJ-71 (162.475 MHz, channel 4)
Shelbyville: KXI-46 (162.500 MHz, channel 5)
Springfield: WXJ-75 (162.400 MHz, channel 1)
Some users close to alternate towers may be able to get weather alerts by reprogramming their NOAA Weather Radio. Those additional counties in our viewing area with potential alternative access include Vermilion, Crawford, Macoupin, Cass, McLean, and Fayette counties. Other counties will not have any access to the radio system during the time.
With the upcoming outage and severe weather possible in parts of our area on Tuesday and Wednesday, an alternative way to get weather alerts includes WeatherCall, a location-specific method to get weather warnings. You can also download the WCIA 3 Weather app for more detailed alerts that will follow your location on your mobile devices.
The upgrades to AWIPS will also affect other core services, but nearby offices will assist in helping to keep things moving. Both the National Weather Service Offices in Chicago and St. Louis will be utilized to ensure that forecasts, alerts and other weather information still get out to the public.
Other services that will be negatively impacted, however, include the Forecast Recordings generated daily. Those forecast recordings rely on the NOAA Weather Radio, and are normally accessed by the public by calling 217-732-7321.
Graphical hazardous weather outlooks will also be impacted, but the corresponding text products normally generated will be issued by the nearby back up offices.
Finally, the daily temperature and precipitation analysis maps will not be updated during the outage.
This same critical systems upgrade happened at the National Weather Service Office in Indianapolis in early May.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
20-07-2025
- UPI
Number of missing victims from Texas flooding drops
Aerial view of the flooding of the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, Texas, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. USCG MH-65 helicopters have conducted multiple flights to the flooded area, rescuing 15 campers from Camp Mystic in Hunt and aiding in the evacuation of 230 people. File Photo via U.S. Coast Guard/UPI | License Photo July 20 (UPI) -- The number of people missing from Kerr County, the hardest hit after devastating flooding in Texas on July 4, dropped to three after authorities accounted for many who were initially reported missing. The announcement was made Saturday evening by officials in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville, which did not identify the names of the victims who remained to be found. Those who were accounted for were verified to be safe and removed from the list. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice thanked more than a thousand local, state and federal authorities who searched for more than 160 people believed to be missing after torrential downpours caused the Guadalupe River to rise rapidly. "This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time," Rice said. Authorities are continuing recovery operations to search for the three missing people."Our thoughts remain with the families still awaiting news, and we will continue to stand with them as efforts persist," Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said in a statement. After the August 2023 Maui wildfire, officials first reported about 1,100 missing persons. By September, DNA testing reduced the death count, and by June 2024, only two people remained missing with the official death toll at 102.
UPI
10-07-2025
- UPI
'Forecasts were there': Emergency response questioned in Texas floods
1 of 3 | Aerial view of the wreckage left in the wake of the flooding in Kerr County, Texas, on Sunday. USCG MH-65 helicopters have conducted multiple flights to the flooded area, rescuing 15 campers from Camp Mystic in Hunt and aiding in the evacuation of 230 people. Photo via U.S. Coast Guard/UPI | License Photo July 10 (UPI) -- More than 100 people are dead and 150 known to be missing in Texas Thursday from flooding but questions remain about how the effects of the deadly disaster could have been mitigated. Kerr County is where most of the deaths and missing persons originate from, but more counties have reported fatalities: Travis, Kendall, Burnet, Williamson and Tom Green County. Hunt, Texas, the site of Camp Mystic for Girls, is located in Kerr County. Twenty-seven campers and counselors from the camp were confirmed dead while five campers and one counselor were listed as missing on Tuesday. The search for blame has extended to Washington with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., demanding an investigation into whether staffing cuts by the Trump administration are in any way responsible for weakening disaster mitigation efforts in Texas. President Donald Trump's administration, in its broad effort to reduce federal spending, has cut positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and proposed more cuts. "According to The New York Times -- key forecasting and coordination positions at the [National Weather Service] offices responsible for this region -- were vacant at the time of the storm," Schumer wrote in a letter to acting inspector general Duane Townsend. "NYT further reports that the vacancy rate at many NWS offices nationwide has roughly doubled since President [Donald] Trump returned to office -- due in part to a wave of early retirements encouraged by the administration and a freeze on hiring. The roles left unfulfilled are not marginal, they're critical." NOAA eliminated the positions of hundreds of probationary employees beginning in February. NOAA's budget justification for fiscal year 2026 -- a detailed breakdown of how funding will be used -- outlines about a $2.2 billion reduction in research funding. This would include climate and weather research. The responsibilities of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would be terminated with some of its remaining responsibilities being moved to the National Weather Service and National Oceanic Service. Staff was not an issue in Texas on July 3 and July 4, according to a press release shared with UPI by NOAA. Extra staff members were on duty at the National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Offices in Austin/San Antonio and San Angelo, Texas, on July 3 and into the daytime on Friday. "All forecasts and warnings were issued in a timely manner," the press release reads. "Additionally, these offices were able to provide decision support services to local partners, including those in the emergency management community." The timeline shared by NOAA begins before what was shared by Kerr County officials. On the morning of July 3, the National Water Center Flood Hazard Outlook "indicated an expansion of flash flood potential" for Kerrville, Texas, in Kerr County and surrounding areas. At 1:18 p.m. CDT on July 3, a flood watch was issued by the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio office. It was to remain in effect through Friday morning. As early as 6:10 p.m. on July 3, the Weather Prediction Center issued three forecasts focused on excessive rainfall "indicating the potential for flash flooding." At 6:22 p.m. on July 3, the National Weather Center Area Hydrologic Discussion issued "locally considerable flood wording" -- messaging guidance -- for areas north and west of San Antonio including Kerrville. At 11:41 p.m. on July 3, the first flash flood warning was issued for Bandera County. "The point is the forecasts were there," Clifford Mass, professor of atmospheric and climate science at the University of Washington, told UPI. "The mechanisms to distribute the forecasts were there. This was a failure of local counties and municipalities and people running these camps." Mass added that weather forecasting, including for dangerous weather, is better than it has ever been. However, local officials have not taken proper steps to maintain the safety of their populations in several instances, including ahead of the floods in Texas. "This has happened time and time again. Some local groups, counties and cities are not taking advantage," he said. "Governmental structures are not acting properly. You can't expect everybody to be an expert on emergency management. It has to be done at a higher level." The Texas legislature will convene a special session beginning on July 21. Its agenda includes items related to improving the state's disaster response and emergency management. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Kerr County officials refused to answer questions from reporters about who would have made decisions relating to evacuation orders during separate press conferences on Tuesday. Abbott confirmed that the state government was aware of the possibility of serious flooding on July 2. "We pre-positioned assets and resources and personnel," Abbot said during Tuesday's press conference. "Then when greater clarity was discerned on Thursday we moved them closer, added and made sure we had adequate supply going into Friday. So we were ready with resources on the ground to be able to quickly respond." "That said, we didn't know the magnitude of the storm," he continued. "If you're in a flash flood warning, no one would know that would be a 30-foot high tsunami wall of water, I don't think." According to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, the first flood emergency alert happened at 1:14 a.m. CDT on Friday. Dispatchers began receiving calls about the flood between 3 and 4 a.m. and he was first contacted by a sergeant between 4 and 5 a.m. "We're in the process of trying to put a timeline. That's going to take a little bit of time," Leitha told reporters on Tuesday morning. "That is not my priority at this time. There's three priorities. That's locating the people out there, identifying and notifying the next of kin. That is what I'm taking as my job as sheriff here to do." When asked whether the county's emergency manager was awake and able to issue an emergency alert during the early morning hours, Leitha said he could not say. "Sir, it's not that easy to just push a button. There's a lot more to that," Leitha said. "I can't tell you at this time." Lt. Col. Ben Baker, deputy director of law enforcement of the Texas Game Wardens, then declined to answer a follow-up question about who from emergency management was receiving weather briefings and would have made a decision to evacuate. "We understand you have many questions. We understand that," Baker responded. "Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home. That's our focus. All those questions will be answered but the priority right now is bringing people home." In his press conference Tuesday afternoon, Abbott became combative with a reporter who asked "who is to blame here?" "Know this, that's the word choice of losers. Every football team makes mistakes," Abbott said. "The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame. The championship teams are the ones that say, 'Don't worry about it, man. We got this. We're going to make sure we go score again and we're going to win this game. What Texas is all about is solutions." Anyone with information about people missing from the flood is encouraged to call 830-258-1111 or email kerrvillemissing@
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Yahoo
Ruidoso, New Mexico weather: Thunderstorms, flood watch to continue after deadly flood
After two consecutive days of heavy rainfall and deadly flash flooding, thunderstorms are expected Wednesday, July 9, in the afternoon and through the evening, according to the National Weather Service. Three people, including two children from El Paso, died after flash flooding swept through the village of Ruidoso Tuesday, July 8, according to authorities. The chance of rain is 40%, and a flood watch remains in effect from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, with a high of 84 degrees and high humidity, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast applies to a portion of central New Mexico, including the South Central Mountains, starting at noon. Excessive runoff may continue to impact rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying, flood-prone areas. "High resolution models depict showers and thunderstorms regenerating for a few hours this afternoon just west of Ruidoso, where atmospheric moisture remains sufficiently high for rain rates up to 1 inch per hour," states the National Weather Service Website. A second round of showers and thunderstorms is also forecast to pass southward over the Ruidoso area early this evening. Rapid runoff is expected to develop below recent burn scars, where the ground is already saturated from two consecutive days of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. For Thursday, July 10, and Friday, July 11, the weather is expected to be mostly sunny, with highs in the 80s. However, thunderstorms are expected to pick up again Saturday, July 12 and continue through the week and up to Tuesday, July 22. During a flood, water levels and the rate of water flowing change quickly. Stay informed and monitor local radio and television stations. Here are some tips from the National Weather Service. Stay Informed: Listen to radio and television, including NOAA Weather Radio if possible, check the Internet and social media for information and updates. Get to Higher Ground: If you live in a flood-prone area or are camping in a low-lying area, get to higher ground immediately. Obey Evacuation Orders: If told to evacuate, do so immediately. Lock your home when you leave. If you have time, disconnect utilities and appliances. Practice Electrical Safety: Don't go into a basement or any room if water covers the electrical outlets or if cords are submerged. If you see sparks or hear buzzing, crackling, snapping or popping noises--get out. Stay out of water that may contain electricity. Avoid Flood Waters: Don't walk through flood waters. It only takes 6 inches of moving water to knock you off your feet. If you are trapped by moving water, move to the highest possible point and call 911 if possible. Don't drive into flooded roadways or around a barricade; turn around, don't drown. Avoid Disaster Areas: Do not visit disaster areas. Your presence may hamper rescue and other emergency operations. Heed road closed and cautionary signs: Road closure and other cautionary signs are put in place for your safety. Pay attention to them. Wait for the all clear: Do not enter a flood damaged home or building until you're given the All Clear by authorities. Contact Your Family and Loved Ones: Let your family and close friends know that you're okay so they can help spread the word. Register with or search the American Red Cross's Safe and Well listing. More: 3 dead after flash flooding hits Ruidoso, New Mexico, officials report: Live updates María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@ @ on Bluesky, and @eptmariacg on TikTok This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Ruidoso, New Mexico flash flood watch, thunderstorms continue today
