National Weather Service Lincoln, Illinois also known as National Weather Service Central Illinois is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 35 counties in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. The Central Illinois office initially consisted of two forecast offices in
Peoria and
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 ...
until the current location in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
became the sole local forecast office in 1995. Federal meteorology offices and stations in the region date back to the 19th century when the
Army Signal Service began taking weather observations using weather equipment at the Springer Building in
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 ...
. Since that time the presence of the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
greatly increased with the installation of new weather radars, stations and forecast offices. The current office in Lincoln maintains a
WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system, and
Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System
The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a technologically advanced processing, display, and telecommunications system that is the cornerstone of the United States National Weather Service's (NWS) operations.
AWIPS is a comp ...
(AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. Lincoln is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
weather.
History
Early History (1879–1930)
![Weather Bureau SpringfieldIL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Weather_Bureau_SpringfieldIL.jpg)
On July 1, 1879 the
Army Signal Service began taking weather observations using weather equipment at the Springer Building in
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 ...
becoming the first federal weather station in the region.
Eleven years later the
U.S. Weather Bureau was founded and the equipment in Springfield was transferred from the Signal Service to the Weather Bureau.
In 1898 Springfield became the site of a new weather station that used
kite
A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
s to measure data in the atmosphere using tethered instruments.
In 1905
Peoria 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.
A year later at the Peoria Station a telegraph was installed to help better transmit weather data and observations.
In Springfield the Weather Bureau was officially moved from its original location to a new building at 7th and Monroe.
In 1928 the Springfield Weather Bureau moved temporarily to the Abe Lincoln Hotel and the old office was subsequently destroyed for construction of a new
federal courthouse.
Finally in 1930 the Springfield office was moved to its new location at the Springfield federal building.
Aviation Weather Stations (1931–1954)
In 1931 the Peoria Weather Bureau began 24-hour operations, and in the following years the office began direct radio broadcasts, through local radio station
WMBD.
As the aviation industry grew a Weather Bureau Airport Station (WBAS) was opened at the
Peoria Municipal Airport, initial observations included temperature, wind and rain readings.
Only a couple of months later another WBAS station was opened at a small airport in Springfield.
In 1943 weather bureau operations at the original Peoria office merged with the airport station and in 1944 the original station closed permanently.
In 1947 the airport weather station in Springfield was moved to the new
Lincoln Capital Airport.
In 1954 the Springfield Weather Bureau was closed and the airport station picked up the responsibilities of the old office.
Introduction of Radars (1955–1992)
In 1955 parts of Central and Western Illinois became covered by the new weather radar
WSR-1
The WSR-1 or Weather Surveillance Radar-1 was one of the first weather radars and the first used by a civilian organization in the US. The WSR-1 series was a modified version of the AN/APS-2F radar, which the Weather Bureau (now the National Weat ...
at
Lambert Field
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state of ...
in
Saint Louis.
Radar coverage continued to improve after a new
WSR-57
WSR-57 radars were the USA's main weather surveillance radar for over 35 years. The National Weather Service operated a network of this model radar across the country, watching for severe weather.
History
The WSR-57 (Weather Surveillance Radar ...
radar was installed in Saint Louis. In 1965 the weather bureau becomes part of the
Environmental Science Services Administration
The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) was a United States Federal executive agency created in 1965 as part of a reorganization of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission was to unify and oversee the meteorologica ...
(ESSA) and only a few years later it became the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) and the Weather Bureau became the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
(NWS).
The Peoria and Springfield offices become known as "Weather Service Offices" under the new agency. In 1974 another radar (
WSR-74S) was installed in
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
greatly improving the radar coverage in Central Illinois.
A new radar,
WSR-74C, was installed in
Moline and helped the Peoria NWS issue severe weather warnings for the region.
In 1980 the Springfield office received a WSR-74C radar system to use for local warning operations.
In 1992
Automated Surface Observing System
Airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorological operations, weather forecasting and climatology. Automated airport weather stations have become part of the backbone of weather observi ...
s (ASOS) were installed at both the Peoria and Springfield airports.
National Weather Service Lincoln (1993–)
In 1993 construction began on a new NWS Weather Forecast Office at the
Logan County Airport in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
.
The new office would be part of a modernization plan that relocate all operation to Lincoln and close the Peoria and Springfield offices.
In 1994 the new Lincoln office was officially accepted by the federal government but did not have any operational responsibilities to begin with.
The following year the upper air equipment from the
National 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.
In the spring of 1995 construction began on a new
WSR-88D radar system in Lincoln.
The first five meteorologists reported to the Lincoln location, but forecasting responsibilities remained at the Peoria and Springfield offices.
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.
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.
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.
In 1998 an
Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System
The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a technologically advanced processing, display, and telecommunications system that is the cornerstone of the United States National Weather Service's (NWS) operations.
AWIPS is a comp ...
(AWIPS) is installed at the office and helps forecasters make more accurate weather forecasts in the region.
By the early 21st century the
weather radio A weather radio is a specialized radio receiver that is designed to receive a public broadcast service, typically from government-owned radio stations, dedicated to broadcasting weather forecasts and reports on a continual basis, with the routine we ...
network in the region was greatly expanding and Lincoln could transmit warnings and general forecasts via such stations.
Operations
![Peoria ASOS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Peoria_ASOS.jpg)
Lincoln is equipped with a
WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar, one of 159 high-resolution
Doppler weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
s operated by the National Weather Service.
The Lincoln office is also equipped with an
Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System
The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a technologically advanced processing, display, and telecommunications system that is the cornerstone of the United States National Weather Service's (NWS) operations.
AWIPS is a comp ...
(AWIPS) that greatly increases monitoring capabilities of weather, satellite, and computer model data by forecasters.
In addition the Lincoln office is also in charge of
Automated Surface Observing System
Airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorological operations, weather forecasting and climatology. Automated airport weather stations have become part of the backbone of weather observi ...
s (ASOS) at
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport is a civil/military public airport five miles west of Peoria, in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. It is on the northwest edge of Bartonville, near Bellevue. It is owned by the Metr ...
and
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is a civil-military airport in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States, three miles (6 km) northwest of downtown Springfield. It is owned by the Springfield Airport Authority (SAA).
The airport is includ ...
.
NWS Lincoln employs both short and long term weather forecasters who each have vital duties.
The short term forecaster issues the
Hazardous Weather Outlook, river forecast products and monitors thunderstorm activity as it develops.
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
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
observations, operation of the NOAA weather radio system and operations of the
Cooperative Observer
The NOAA Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a citizen weather observer network run by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) and National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Over 8,700 volunteers from the fifty states and all terr ...
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. Volunteer
HAM radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
operators are also present during most severe weather outbreaks, coordinating information between
weather spotter
Weather spotting is observing weather for the purpose of reporting to a larger group or organization. Examples include National Weather Service (NWS) co-op observers and Skywarn storm spotters.
Storm spotters
A storm spotter is a specific type ...
s and forecasters.
Area of Responsibility
The National Weather Service Central Illinois is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements for 35 counties in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Southeastern Illinois
Southeastern Illinois College is a public community college between Harrisburg and Equality in Saline County, Illinois. The college was founded in 1960 and offers associate degrees. A secondary campus, the David L. Stanley White County Center, i ...
: 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
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 ...
,
Decatur,
Champaign
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
and
Bloomington/Normal.
Significant events
![May 9 1995, Central Illinois Tornado](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/May_9_1995%2C_Central_Illinois_Tornado.jpg)
In June 1957
Hurricane Audrey
Hurricane Audrey was one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in U.S. history, killing at least 416 people in its devastation of the southwestern Louisiana coast in 1957. Along with Hurricane Alex in 2010, it was also the strongest June hur ...
's
extratropical
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
remnants caused a major rain, and flooding event across much of Central Illinois.
The Weather Bureau used many
rain gauge
A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a period o ...
s across the region to measure the impacts of the storm.
The National Weather Service in Lincoln has covered many significant weather events in its history.
Early in the Lincoln office's history, an
F3 tornado that was part of the
May 1995 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
passed within two miles of the new office.
During the
North American blizzard of 1999
The Blizzard of 1999 was a strong winter snowstorm which struck the Midwestern United States and portions of central and eastern Canada, hitting hardest in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, southern Ontario, and southern Quebec ...
several Lincoln forecasters were forced to spend 1–2 consecutive days at the office when their replacements could not get to them.
Two violent tornadoes have occurred during the office's period of operation, the
Roanoke, Illinois F4 tornado of July 13, 2004, and the Washington, IL EF4 during the
tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013
On November 17, 2013, the deadliest and costliest November tornado outbreak in Illinois history took shape, becoming the fourth-largest for the state overall. With more than 30 tornadoes in Indiana, it was that state's largest tornado outbreak fo ...
.
NOAA Weather Radio
National Weather Service Lincoln, Illinois forecast office provides programming for nine
NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Serv ...
stations in Illinois.
NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards: Central Illinois
NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
References
External links
Official NWS Lincoln Website
{{good article
Lincoln, Illinois
Buildings and structures in Logan County, Illinois
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. Lincoln is ho ...