National Weather Service Chicago, currently based in Romeoville, Illinois, is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 23 counties in Northern Illinois, the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The Army Signal Service established the first federal weather office in the region in Chicago on October 15, 1870. During May 1894 the Chicago Weather Bureau was given a new forecast area extending from the Great Lakes region all the way to the Rocky Mountains. The current National Weather Service Chicago is located in Romeoville and is in charge of issuing local forecasts and weather warnings for the Chicago area. It is one of only two National Weather Service offices in Illinois, the other being National Weather Service Central Illinois in Lincoln, Illinois. The National Weather Service Chicago forecast office is located adjacent to the

Lewis University Airport Lewis University Airport is a public use airport located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Chicago, in the village of Romeoville in Will County, Illinois, United States. The Joliet Regional Port District assumed ownership of the airport in 198 ...

in Romeoville, Illinois.

NOAA Weather Radio

National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, currently provides programming for 11 NOAA Weather Radio stations.

KWO39 Chicago

KWO39 regular programming serves marine interests on southern Lake Michigan and the Illinois and Indiana lake-shore. KWO39 also carries severe weather watches and warnings for Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties in Illinois, plus Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

History

This station first began in 1954 as the first weather radio system in the Chicago area dedicated to the aviation user and continued until 1958 when the aviation broadcast went dark. Ivan Brunk, meteorologist in charge of the Chicago U.S. Weather Bureau (now National Weather Service) office at that time, suggested that the radio service be reinstated and put to

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

usage on an experimental basis. The marine weather broadcast was an immediate success, and the service became permanent two years later. Throughout the 1960s, programming was expanded to include weather information for the general public, as well as the marine community. In the early 1970s, the forecast office moved from the University of Chicago to a location on West Pershing Rd. The 300 watt transmitter was located on the roof of the six-story building where it remained until 1975 when the transmitter was relocated to the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower).

KZZ81 Lockport

KZZ81 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, &

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

counties in Illinois as well as Lake County in Indiana. Hourly conditions on this station are reported for the following locations: O'Hare Airport, The Lakefront, Joliet, Aurora, Waukegan, Illinois,

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Bloomington,

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

, Rockford, Kankakee.

KXI41 Crystal Lake

KXI41 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Boone, Cook, Kane, Lake, & McHenry counties in Illinois, plus Kenosha & Walworth counties in Wisconsin.

KXI58 Plano

KXI58 broadcasts weather and hazard information for DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, &

counties in Illinois.

KZZ57 Rockford

KZZ57 broadcasts weather and hazard information for

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

, Boone, Ogle, DeKalb,

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

Stephenson Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include: *Ashley Stephen ...

counties in Illinois, plus Green & Rock counties in Wisconsin.KZZ57 Rockford, 162.475 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012 Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Stephenson County being issued by the National Weather Service office in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, and Green and Rock counties in Wisconsin being issued by the National Weather Service office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

WXK24 Odell

WXK24 broadcasts weather and hazard information for LaSalle, Grundy,

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, Ford,

, Kankakee, Iroquois, Marshall, Woodford & McLean counties in Illinois.WXK24 Odell, 162.450 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012 Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Marshall, Woodford, and McLean Counties being issued by the National Weather Service Central Illinois located in Lincoln, Illinois.

WNG536 DeKalb

WNG536 broadcasts weather and hazard information for DeKalb, Boone,

, Ogle,

& Kane counties in Illinois.WNG536 DeKalb, 162.550 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012

KXI86 Crescent City

KXI86 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Ford, Kankakee, Iroquois, & Vermilion Counties in Illinois, as well as

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Benton Benton may refer to: Places Canada *Benton, a local service district south of Woodstock, New Brunswick *Benton, Newfoundland and Labrador United Kingdom * Benton, Devon, near Bratton Fleming * Benton, Tyne and Wear United States *Benton, Alabam ...

Counties in Indiana.KXI86 Crescent City, 162.500 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012 Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Vermilion County being issued by the National Weather Service Central Illinois located in Lincoln, Illinois.

KZZ55 Dixon

KZZ55 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Ogle,

, Carroll, Whiteside & Bureau Counties in Illinois.KZZ55 Dixon, 162.525 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012 Programming for Ogle and Lee counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Carroll Whiteside & Bureau counties being issued by the National Weather Service office located in

KZZ58 Kankakee

KZZ58 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Kankakee, Iroquois &

Counties in Illinois, as well as

& Lake Counties in Indiana.

WNG689 Hebron

WNG689 broadcasts weather and hazard information for Lake, Porter,

, Jasper, LaPorte, Starke &

Pulaski Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in t ...

Counties in Indiana.WNG 689 Hebron, 162.450 MHz
NOAA.gov. Accessed August 24, 2012 Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for LaPorte, Starke, and Pulaski Counties being issued by the National Weather Service Northern Indiana located in Syracuse, Indiana.

First-order/climate sites

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

(Chicago) * Chicago Rockford International Airport (Rockford)

References

External links

NWS Chicago Main PageNOAA Weather Radio Coverage Maps
{{List of National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices Chicago, Illinois Radio stations in Illinois