NOAA Radios Offline Longer in Multiple States

NOAA weather radios are temporarily offline in multiple regions, including Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, and Alabama, due to planned upgrades to the National Weather Service's Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS). The outages are lasting longer than initially expected, with Illinois radio services now projected offline through Friday and Alabama and Michigan affected for several days. The NWS stated the upgrades cannot be rescheduled even if severe weather occurs, and alternative sources for weather alerts should be used during the downtime. Some regions are not expecting organized severe weather during the outage, but vigilance is still advised. Forecasting services are being temporarily managed by backup offices, and routine weather radio tests are postponed until upgrades are complete. The AWIPS improvements are considered essential for integrating meteorological and hydrological data to enhance future operations.