NWS Weather Radar in Glasgow Gets Upgrade

It took teamwork, meticulous timing and cooperation from Mother Nature to make history in Glasgow, Mont. on Friday. The National Weather Service sent out a message to the media of a pending upgrade in equipment, the fourth and final major upgrade of the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).

Yes, it is true, even the Weather Service had to plan according to the wind gusts for this project.

"Wholesale replacement of weather radars is cost-prohibitive, and as it was determined that the best way to ensure that the current aggregate of 158 radars across the U.S. (including island sites in the Pacific and Atlantic) are fully functional for another 30 years is to take on these four individual projects to replace or refurbish some of the most crucial components of the radar," said Brandon Bigeobach, Science and Operations Officer for the National Weather Service in Glasgow. Over the past several years, contract teams have come through Glasgow to refurbish many of the electrical components inside of the dome of the radar (where all of the critical components reside) as well as the shelter buildings surrounding the radar.

This last project, known as the pedestal replacement, is the most time-intensive of the four upgrades. This stage required a crane to come to Glasgow and remove the dome on top of the radar tower to get access to the pedestal. This particular crane had to come from Billings.

To put things into perspective, the dome is about 35 feet high and weighs about 6,000 pounds. The pedestal is 15 feet high and weighs approximately 22,000 pounds. The tower or stand on which the dome and pedestal rest, is 65 feet tall.

This is one project that the weatherman wants to be accurate in his predictions. After predicting the seven-day forecast to be favorable on Friday, Oct. 16, things then progressed accordingly, with the wind speeds to be under 18 mph. "The forecast staff at the NWS in Glasgow did a fantastic job relaying wind speed forecasts for crane operations, which ultimately led to the successful completion of the dome removal and pedestal replacement," said Scott Rozanski, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Glasgow. "This is especially based on the fact that the wind recorded at the airport in Glasgow on Wednesday and Thursday showed average wind speeds between 37 and 38 mph each day, with a peak wind gust to 54 on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and a peak wind gust to 50 mph on Thursday, Oct. 5th."

This replacement will last approximately 35 years. The final stages of this portion of the phase are expected to be complete by Oct. 16th.