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Why Pittsburgh's Weather Radar Is Down, But KDKA Still Has The Forecast

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Meteorologists use several different tools to see the weather all around us. And nowadays, just about everyone has access to that weather information on their smartphones.

But some smartphone users may have been surprised to see the National Weather Service's radar stopped working Monday morning for maintenance.

"This is kind of its tune-up period here, for the next three to four days, as we replace critical parts that are used to sample the atmosphere," says Fred McMullen, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

"The good news is, by having this outage right now, we're hoping to stave off further outages in the future that could be longer," McMullen explains.

Even with the Pittsburgh radar site down, there are still ways to sample the atmosphere.

The National Weather Service has radars in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Charleston, West Virginia, and State College -- all of which are accessible, according to McMullen.

Additionally, he says, "the FAA has a terminal Doppler radar that can be accessed via the internet, so there other ways to get the information."

The easiest way is through a mosaic or composite radar.

That's when all of the radars are grouped together into one picture that shows weather on a regional and national scale, McMullen explains, so people can see how they'll be affected by precipitation in the coming days.

The KDKA Weather app already has this mosaic feature turned on, so there's nothing you need to do to see radar information. And while none is expected this week, severe weather is covered too.

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KDKA's weather app uses the mosaic feature, so you can get weather updates while Pittsburgh's radar is down. (Photo Credit: KDKA)

McMullen says the National Weather Service expects to have the Pittsburgh radar back up and running by Friday -- at the latest.

"However," he notes, "it looks like -- based on the input -- it can be up as early as Thursday morning."

In the meantime, you can always stay up to date with the KDKA app, which you can download here.

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