The National Weather Service office in Lincoln is getting a radar upgrade.
The new equipment, called dual polarization radar, is the first upgrade since radar was installed in Lincoln 17 years ago. It will give forecasters a three-dimensional view of weather systems, says Chris Miller, the warning coordinator meteorologist.
“Things that we can see on the radar will impact us in the next say two to four hours, sometimes even a little longer than that. We’ll be able to narrow down those areas, particularly when it comes to winter-type precipitation, but also we’ll be able to narrow down areas where flash flooding is occurring much better than we have in the past,” he said.
The installation starts Oct. 1, and will have the Lincoln radar off-line for 10 days. The upgrade is part of a $50 million program to upgrade radar at 160 National Weather Service sites around the country. The federal funding is coming through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.
