The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Riverton will be down for approximately five days beginning Monday, May 21, for the refurbishment of the transmitter. Although the form, fit, and function of the transmitter will remain the same, old breakers and cables original to the radar will be replaced with modern fuses and cables. This will help the 20-year old radar operating smoothly for another 20 years.

This transmitter update is the second major project of the NEXRAD Service Life Extension Program, a series of upgrades and replacements that will keep our nation’s radar viable into the 2030’s. The $150 million investment (across the four upgrades) is being made by the three organizations that use these radars – the NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force, and Federal Aviation Administration. The two remaining projects are the refurbishments of the pedestal and equipment shelters. The Serivce Life Extension Program will be complete in 2022.

During the outage, some radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including Pocatello, ID; Billings, MT; Salt Lake City, UT; and Cheyenne, WY.