WSR-57

WSR-57 radars were the USA's main weather surveillance radar for over 35 years.[1] The National Weather Service operated a network of this model radar across the country, watching for severe weather.

WSR-57 radar antenna from NOAA

History

Radar image of tornado-producing supercells over Minneapolis, 1965

The WSR-57 (Weather Surveillance Radar - 1957) was the first 'modern' weather radar. Initially commissioned at the Miami Hurricane Forecast Center, the WSR-57 was installed in other parts of the CONUS (continental United States).[2] The WSR-57 was the first generation of radars designed expressly for a national warning network.[3]

The WSR-57 was designed in 1957 by Dewey Soltow using World War II technology. It gave only coarse reflectivity data and no velocity data, which made it extremely difficult to predict tornadoes.[2] Weather systems were traced across the radar screen using grease pencils. Forecasters had to manually turn a crank to adjust the radar's scan elevation, and needed considerable skill to judge the intensity of storms based on green blotches on the radar scope.[1]

The military designation for the WSR-57 is AN/FPS-41.[2]

NOAA has pictures of the Charleston, SC, WSR-57 radar image of the 1989 Hurricane Hugo. A WSR-57 dish, located on the roof of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), was blown away by Hurricane Andrew. The NHC report on Hurricane Andrew shows its last radar image, as well as images from nearby WSR-88D radars. As the network of WSR-57 radars aged, some were replaced with WSR-74S models of similar performance but with better reliability. WSR-57 operators sometimes had to scramble for spare parts no longer manufactured in this country.[1] 128 of the WSR-57 and WSR-74 model radars were spread across the country as the National Weather Service's radar network until the 1990s.[4] The WSR-57 radars were gradually replaced by the Weather Surveillance Radar - 1988, Doppler, WSR-88D, which NOAA named the NEXRAD network.

The last WSR-57 radar in the United States was decommissioned on December 2, 1996.[1]

Radar sites

The 66[1] former sites of the WSR-57 include[2][5][6][7] the following:

Site (Site ID)Commissioned
(Date / Chronological Rank)
Decommissioned
Miami, FL (MIA)

Moved to Coral Gables in 1967.

June 26, 1959

1st

August 24, 1992

Destroyed during Hurricane Andrew.

Kansas City, MO (MCI)

The dome used to reside downtown on the old Federal Building at 911 Walnut Street
per SPC history

1959

2nd
Replaced a WSR-1

November 9, 1995
Charleston, SC (CHS)[1]

Serial model 16

August 12, 1960

Replaced a WSR-1
About 16th

December 2, 1996
Key West, FL (EYW)

Serial model 19

June 10, 1960

Among first 31

March 21, 1983

Replaced by a WSR-74S.

Wichita, KS (ICT) June 22, 1960

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-3

November 9, 1995
Cincinnati, OH (CVG)

(Covington, KY) at the Greater Cincinnati Airport.

June 28, 1960 (testing in June)

About 16th

June 21, 1996
St. Louis, MO (STL) July 18, 1960

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

June 19, 1996
Wilmington, NC (ILM) Before September 1960

Among first 31

November 16, 1995
Tampa Bay Area, FL (TPA while at Tampa, TBW when moved to Ruskin, FL)

Serial model 20
Moved to Ruskin, FL May 1, 1975 to June 1, 1975

November 18, 1960

2nd commissioning June 1, 1975
Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

May 1, 1975 for move to Ruskin, FL

Final decommissioning November 9, 1995

Galveston, TX (GLS)

On top of the Post Office Building

June 11, 1961

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

May 22, 1995
Brownsville, TX (BRO) March 1, 1961

About 16th
Replaced a WSR-1

February 28, 1996
Fort Worth, TX (FTW) moved to

Stephenville, TX (SEP) September 10 to October 28, 1973.

April 5, 1961

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

August 1, 1995
Detroit, MI September 12, 1961[8]

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-3

Replaced with a WSR-74S.
Amarillo, TX (AMA) March 6, 1961

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

September 15, 1994
Norman, OK - NSSL

Research radar; not part of the national operational network. Originally located at NSSL facility on the University of Oklahoma - Norman's North Research Campus near 35.23807,-97.46264 and later relocated to Woodward, OK in the 1980's as an off-network radar operated to support local emergency management and ARES services in an area of poor network radar coverage. Radar tower and antenna remains in place at 36.44133,-99.37137

1962?

Probably not counted among first 31

1980s
Catalina Island, CA (STC?)

a.k.a. Santa Catalina - atop Blackjack Mountain.

June 1, 1963

Among first 31

March 24, 1968

Station closed

Little Rock, AR (LIT was the WSR-57 designator. LZK is the WSR-88D and WFO Designation.) April 19, 1961

Among first 31

Moved to North Little Rock Airport with NWSFO in 1975. Final decommissioning was June 8, 1995
Sacramento, CA (SAC) February 2, 1960

Among first 31

August 24, 1995
Washington, D.C. (IAD)

At Washington Dulles International Airport, Dulles, VA.

Early 1960s

Among first 31

Early 1980s

Replaced by a WSR-74S at Patuxent River, MD.

Apalachicola, FL (AQQ) December 28, 1959

Among first 31

January 19, 1996
Daytona Beach, FL (DAB) May 14, 1960

Among first 31

December 1, 1995
Des Moines, IA (DSM) May 27, 1960

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

May 7, 1996
Chicago, IL (CHI)

Moved to Marseilles, IL (MMO) June 1, 1972 to April 5, 1973
A WR100-5 was leased during the move to Marseilles, IL

January 2, 1963

Second commissioning April 5, 1973
Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-3

1st decommissioning May 31, 1972

Final decommissioning February 28, 1983
Replaced by a WSR-74S

Evansville, IN (EVV)

Serial model 8
Was located at 38.03565,-87.53854

April 28, 1960

Among first 31

July 12, 1996
Lake Charles, LA (LCH)

Serial model 2

July 10, 1961

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

October 12, 1995
New Orleans, LA (MSY)
(SIL at Slidell, LA)

Originally on roof of Federal Building in New Orleans before moving to 1120 Old Spanish Trail in Slidell, LA

November 2, 1960

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

August 22, 1995
Minneapolis, MN (MSP)

At the airport

September 12, 1961

Among first 31

April 3, 1996
Missoula, MT (MSO)

At Point Six Mountain

November 1, 1961

Among first 31

December 12, 1995
Atlantic City, NJ (ACY) August 25, 1961

Among first 31

September 13, 1995
New York City, NY (NYC)

At 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

WSR-57 dome atop 30 Rockefeller
March 6, 1961

Among first 31

September 26, 1995
Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)

Was located at 35.40159,-97.60149

April 1, 1960

Among first 31
Replaced a WSR-1

July 25, 1994
Brunswick Naval Air Station, ME (NHZ) January 1, 1962 (under Navy operations)

Transferred to NOAA
December 5, 1969

February 1, 1985

Replaced by a WSR-74S in Portland, ME (PWM).

Jackson, MS (JAN)

At Jackson International Airport at Thompson Field.

March 7, 1969

Replaced a WSR-3

June 21, 1995
Limon, CO (LIC) July 1, 1970 December 22, 1995
Garden City, KS (GCK) March 31, 1970 September 1, 1994
Grand Island, NE (GRI) June 15, 1971 January 19, 1996

Has been torn down to make way for a new airport termial

Buffalo, NY (BUF) October 29, 1961 February 14, 1996
A note on the chronological ranks - The first 31 were built through the early 1960s, at existing Weather Bureau offices. 14 were along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. 11 were in the Midwest. 3 were inland of the East Coast, and California and Montana had one each on mountaintops. The late 1960s saw 14 more built east of the Rockies.
Nashville, TN (BNA)

(OHX is the WSR-88D)
At Old Hickory Lake

November 30, 1970

Replaced a WSR-3

January 19, 1996
Memphis, TN

(MEG is the WSR-88D)
At the Millington Naval Air Station (NQA).
Moved to Memphis (MEM)

July 1, 1961 (under Navy operations)

Operations transferred to NOAA
February 1, 1971

January 6, 1986

Replaced by a WSR-74S.

Medford, OR (MFR) June 30, 1971 August 30, 1996
Centreville, AL (CKL)

8 miles southwest of Brent, AL

December 10, 1970

2nd commissioning August 10, 1973

May 27, 1973 heavily damaged by an F4 tornado

Final decommissioning June 27, 1995

Pensacola, FL (NPA) January 19, 1996
Athens, GA (AHN) June 21, 1966 September 13, 1996
Waycross, GA (AYS) August 6, 1969 January 19, 1996
Cape Hatteras, NC (HAT)

At what is now 47730 Buxton Back Road

January 30, 1968

Replaced a SP-1M

December 6, 1995
Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)

(PBZ is the WSR-88D)

August 1, 1966 May 10, 1995
Huron, SD (HON) October 30, 1971 [9] November 4, 1996, now a live dual-polarization for KELO-TV
Bristol, TN (TRI)

Located at 6247 Panhandle Road atop Holston Mountain near Elizabethton

May 25, 1972 January 19, 1996
Midland/Odessa, TX (MAF) June 15, 1972

Replaced a WSR-1

June 4, 1996
Neenah, WI (EEW)

At 3009 Fairview Road

June 28, 1971 November 2, 1995
Hondo, TX (HDO) August 2, 1971

66th and final WSR-57

March 14, 1996
Monett, MO (UMN)

Located at 3258 Farm Road 1090 south of Monett

March 18, 1971 February 1, 1996
Chatham, MA (CHH)

Transfer of operations from the SP-1M at Nantucket, MA

August 9, 1971 Replaced by a WSR-74S

Radar properties

Last image of the Miami's WSR-57 blown off by Hurricane Andrew.
  • The radar uses a wavelength of 10.3 cm.[10] This corresponds to an operating frequency of 2890 MHz. This frequency is in the S band, which is also used by today's weather radar network.
  • WSR-57 radars had the following interesting statistics:[10]
    • Dish diameter: 12 feet (3.7 m)
    • Power output: 410,000 watts
    • Maximum range: 915 km (494 nm)

References

  1. "Weather service retires last of old radars". USAToday. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  2. "History of Operational Use of Weather Radar by U.S. Weather Services". AMS. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  3. "Historic Tornado Warning Conference Launched Nation's First Weather Radar Network". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  4. "An Overview of NEXRAD Products Available via UCAR's Unidata Program". wsicorp.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  5. "Assessment of Nexrad Coverage and Associated Weather Services (1995)". books.nap.edu. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  6. "Report of US Weather Bureau Studies in Radar Hydrology" (PDF). cig.ensmp.fr. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  7. "NWS Offices Past and Present". dm.net. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  8. National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac Forecast Office. "Beecher 50th Anniversary Commemoration". National Weather Service Central Region Headquarters. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  9. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/21670634
  10. "WSR - Weather Surveillance Radar". weather.cod.edu. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
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