NOAA Weather Radio Service Interruptions Expected in Central Indiana
Central Indiana residents should prepare for an interruption in NOAA Weather Radio services next week as the National Weather Service conducts a critical system upgrade.
From Monday, April 28, through at least Wednesday, April 30, all NOAA Weather Radio transmitters in the region will be offline due to the upgrade of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, or AWIPS, at NWS offices.
The system upgrade is part of a national rotation schedule and cannot be delayed, even if severe weather is forecast. The upgrade aims to enhance weather forecasting capabilities, but it will cause a temporary disruption to the continuous weather alert service. Transmitters in northern and far southern Indiana will not be affected.
Impacted transmitters and frequencies include:
Indianapolis: KEC-74 – 162.550 MHz
Bloomington: WXM-78 – 162.450 MHz
Putnamville: WXK-72 – 162.400 MHz
Monticello: WXK-74 – 162.475 MHz
Georgia: WWG-72 – 162.500 MHz
Edwardsport: WWG-83 – 162.425 MHz
Newport: KZZ-27 – 162.425 MHz
Seymour: WWG-73 – 162.525 MHz
Muncie: KJY-93 – 162.425 MHz
AWIPS is the backbone of weather forecasting and alerting for NWS offices nationwide. The upgrade is expected to improve forecasting accuracy, speed and the delivery of critical weather information. However, NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts will be temporarily unavailable during the process. Service may remain disrupted through Thursday or Friday, depending on how the upgrade progresses.
Despite the outage, the NWS will continue to monitor weather conditions. Backup support from neighboring NWS offices will be available to assist central Indiana. Local meteorologists will remain on duty around the clock, using PC-based applications to issue forecasts and warnings as necessary.
Residents are urged to have multiple ways to receive emergency alerts.
Additionally, ensure that emergency alert notifications are enabled on your smartphone.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Radio and notifications will remain operational. This outage only affects alerts and sounds delivered through NOAA Weather Radio devices.
Credit: WTHR
