COLUMBIA, S.C. — Some of you may have noticed on your WLTX weather app that the Columbia radar has been down.
Seems the radar is in need of repair, specifically it's base.
The radar at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in West Columbia went offline on Feb. 13 and since then, forecasters haven’t been able to use this tool to track weather patterns.
John Quagliariello is the warning coordination meteorologist at NWS Columbia. He says the radar’s pedestal needs to be replaced, which is needed for antenna rotation and positioning.
“The radar itself was installed in 1994 and it’s outlived its expected lifespan,” Quagliariello said.
“Part of the Service Life Extension Program that the radar is going through now, the idea behind it is to refurbish, to modernize the radar so it lasts for years to come and provide valuable data to us,” he added.
The Service Life Extension program is a $135 million, eight-year program being developed by the National Weather Service, the Air Force, and the FAA to keep radar sites operational into the 2030s.
“The great thing about the National Weather Service radar network is that we have nearby radars which also provide coverage over the area," Quagliariello said. "So, for example, there is one up in Greenville, S.C., one in Charleston, S.C., another radar in Wilmington, and Atlanta, and all the overlapping coverage. So, we still can monitor the radar and provide sufficient warning if we need to."