 The Lincoln, Illinois National Weather Service office. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Jurisdiction | Federal Government of the United States |
| Headquarters | 1362 State Route 10, Lincoln, IL 62656 40°9′6.2″N89°20′18.2″W / 40.151722°N 89.338389°W /40.151722; -89.338389 |
| Employees | 22 |
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent agency | National Weather Service |
National Weather Service Lincoln, Illinois also known asNational Weather Service Central Illinois is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 35 counties inCentral andSoutheasternIllinois. The Central Illinois office initially consisted of two forecast offices inPeoria andSpringfield until the current location inLincoln became the sole local forecast office in 1995. Federal meteorology offices and stations in the region date back to the 19th century when theArmy Signal Service began taking weather observations using weather equipment at the Springer Building inSpringfield. Since that time the presence of theNational Weather Service greatly increased with the installation of new weather radars, stations and forecast offices. The current office in Lincoln maintains aWSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system, andAdvanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. Lincoln is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well asaviation weather.
On July 1, 1879, theArmy Signal Service began taking weather observations using weather equipment at the Springer Building inSpringfield becoming the first federal weather station in the region.[2][3] Eleven years later theU.S. Weather Bureau was founded and the equipment in Springfield was transferred from the Signal Service to the Weather Bureau.[2][3][4] In 1898 Springfield became the site of a new weather station that usedkites to measure data in the atmosphere using tethered instruments.[2][5] In 1905Peoria became the site of a new U.S. Weather Bureau, constructed at the cost of $7,969 the station measured temperatures, wind speeds, precipitation, snowfall, and barometric pressure.[2][6][7] A year later at the Peoria Station a telegraph was installed to help better transmit weather data and observations.[2] In Springfield the Weather Bureau was officially moved from its original location to a new building at 7th and Monroe.[2] In 1928 the Springfield Weather Bureau moved temporarily to the Abe Lincoln Hotel and the old office was subsequently destroyed for construction of a newfederal courthouse.[2] Finally in 1930 the Springfield office was moved to its new location at the Springfield federal building.[2]
In 1931 the Peoria Weather Bureau began 24-hour operations, and in the following years the office began direct radio broadcasts, through local radio stationWMBD.[2] As the aviation industry grew a Weather Bureau Airport Station (WBAS) was opened at thePeoria Municipal Airport, initial observations included temperature, wind and rain readings.[7] Only a couple of months later another WBAS station was opened at a small airport in Springfield.[2][8] In 1943 weather bureau operations at the original Peoria office merged with the airport station and in 1944 the original station closed permanently.[7] In 1947 the airport weather station in Springfield was moved to the newLincoln Capital Airport.[2] In 1954 the Springfield Weather Bureau was closed and the airport station picked up the responsibilities of the old office.[2]
In 1955 parts of Central and Western Illinois became covered by the new weather radarWSR-1 atLambert Field inSaint Louis.[2] Radar coverage continued to improve after a newWSR-57 radar was installed in Saint Louis. In 1965 the weather bureau becomes part of theEnvironmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) and only a few years later it became theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Weather Bureau became theNational Weather Service (NWS).[2] The Peoria and Springfield offices become known as "Weather Service Offices" under the new agency. In 1974 another radar (WSR-74S) was installed inMarseilles greatly improving the radar coverage in Central Illinois.[2] A new radar,WSR-74C, was installed inMoline and helped the Peoria NWS issue severe weather warnings for the region.[2] In 1980 the Springfield office received a WSR-74C radar system to use for local warning operations.[2] In 1992Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) were installed at both the Peoria and Springfield airports.[2]
In 1993 construction began on a new NWS Weather Forecast Office at theLogan County Airport inLincoln.[2] The new office would be part of a modernization plan that relocate all operation to Lincoln and close the Peoria and Springfield offices.[2] In 1994 the new Lincoln office was officially accepted by the federal government but did not have any operational responsibilities to begin with.[2] The following year the upper air equipment from theNational Weather Service Paducah was moved to the new Lincoln location, the only function the new office had at the time was to take observations using this equipment.[2] In the spring of 1995 construction began on a newWSR-88D radar system in Lincoln.[2][9] The first five meteorologists reported to the Lincoln location, but forecasting responsibilities remained at the Peoria and Springfield offices.[2] By September 1995 the Lincoln office began full-time operations and picked up the counties from the Peoria and Springfield offices as well as a few from the Saint Louis and Evansville offices.[10] On October 1, 1995, the National Weather Service offices in Peoria and Springfield were officially closed after serving Central Illinois since the early 20th century.[2][10]
In 1996 the WSR-88D radar was completed and joins a network of other "NEXRAD" radars throughout the country, while the WSR-74C in Springfield was officially decommissioned.[2] In 1998 anAdvanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is installed at the office and helps forecasters make more accurate weather forecasts in the region.[2][11] By the early 21st century theweather radio network in the region was greatly expanding and Lincoln could transmit warnings and general forecasts via such stations.[2]
Lincoln is equipped with aWSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar, one of 159 high-resolutionDopplerweather radars operated by the National Weather Service.[2] The Lincoln office is also equipped with anAdvanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly increases monitoring capabilities of weather, satellite, and computer model data by forecasters.[2] In addition the Lincoln office is also in charge ofAutomated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) atGeneral Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport andAbraham Lincoln Capital Airport.[2] NWS Lincoln employs both short and long term weather forecasters who each have vital duties.[12] The short term forecaster issues theHazardous Weather Outlook, river forecast products and monitors thunderstorm activity as it develops.[12] The long term forecaster plans weather forecasts up until seven days into the future, coordinates with other long term forecasters in neighboring regions and issues advisories for Winter weather and dense fog. There are also meteorologists assigned to data acquisition responsibilities, staff in this position are responsible for monitoring weather balloons,river stage observations, operation of the NOAA weather radio system and operations of theCooperative Observer network. During times of Severe Weather NWS Lincoln divides its covered area into various geographic districts with different forecasters handling the severe weather operation of his or her own sector. Depending on the severity of the outbreak NWS Lincoln employs 2 to 6 meteorologists to issue any warnings. VolunteerHAM radio operators are also present during most severe weather outbreaks, coordinating information betweenweather spotters and forecasters.[13]
The National Weather Service Central Illinois is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements for 35 counties inCentral andSoutheastern Illinois: Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fulton, Jasper, Knox, Lawrence, Logan, McLean, Macon, Marshall, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Richland, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, and Woodford. In addition the office is in charge of aviation forecasts for five regional airports,Peoria,Springfield,Decatur,Champaign andBloomington/Normal.[2]
In June 1957Hurricane Audrey'sextratropical remnants caused a major rain, and flooding event across much of Central Illinois.[14] The Weather Bureau used manyrain gauges across the region to measure the impacts of the storm.[14] The National Weather Service in Lincoln has covered many significant weather events in its history.[15] Early in the Lincoln office's history, anF3 tornado that was part of theMay 1995 Tornado Outbreak Sequence passed within two miles of the new office.[2] During theNorth American blizzard of 1999 several Lincoln forecasters were forced to spend 1–2 consecutive days at the office when their replacements could not get to them.[2] Two violent tornadoes have occurred during the office's period of operation, theRoanoke, Illinois F4 tornado of July 13, 2004, and theWashington, IL EF4 during thetornado outbreak of November 17, 2013.[16][17]
National Weather Service Lincoln, Illinois forecast office provides programming for nineNOAA Weather Radio stations in Illinois.[18]
| City of license | Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | Power | Counties served (in Illinois unless otherwise noted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | KZZ65 | 162.525 MHz | 300 watts | De Witt,McLean,Tazewell,Woodford |
| Champaign | WXJ76 | 162.550 MHz | 1,000 watts | Champaign,Coles,De Witt,Douglas,Edgar,Ford,Moultrie,Piatt,Vermilion |
| Galesburg | KZZ66 | 162.400 MHz | 300 watts | Henry,Knox,Mercer,Warren |
| Jacksonville | WXM90 | 162.525 MHz | 300 watts | Brown,Calhoun,Cass,Greene,Morgan,Pike,Scott |
| Newton | KXI48 | 162.450 MHz | 1,000 watts | Clark,Clay,Crawford,Cumberland,Edwards,Effingham,Jasper,Lawrence,Richland,Wayne |
| Paris | KXI47 | 162.525 MHz | 300 watts | Clark,Coles,Douglas,Edgar,Vigo County, Indiana |
| Peoria | WXJ71 | 162.475 MHz | 1,000 watts | Fulton,Knox,Marshall,Mason,Peoria,Putnam,Stark,Tazewell,Woodford |
| Shelbyville | KXI46 | 162.500 MHz | 300 watts | Christian,Effingham,Fayette,Moultrie,Shelby |
| Springfield | WXJ75 | 162.400 MHz | 1,000 watts | Cass,Christian,De Witt,Logan,Macon,Macoupin,Mason,Menard,Montgomery,Morgan,Sangamon |
