GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – The National Weather Service says it anticipates having a temporary transmitter in place by the end of August to get the Galveston NOAA weather radio broadcast back on the air. KPRC 2 Investigates first reported on the issue and has been monitoring it for several months.
NOAA’s weather radio transmitter in Hitchcock was knocked out in a fire back on March 25.
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"NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week‚" NOAA’s website reads.
For several months, the National Weather Service did not have a timeline on when the transmitter would be repaired and operational again.
On Wednesday, the agency said they have decided to move the location of the replacement transmitter to a new tower, which they said would be at no cost to the agency going forward.
A temporary transmitter and antenna have been approved in order to get the broadcast back on the air. They anticipate the temporary set-up will be up and running by Aug. 31.
“The temporary transmitter will not broadcast at as high of a power as the original transmitter and the temporary antenna will not be as high on the new tower as the previous one was. Therefore, the geographic coverage of this temporary broadcast will be less than the original broadcast provided,” the National Weather Service said.
The agency said the process of getting a new, permanent transmitter as well as installing a new shelter and mounting continues. A permanent transmitter is on order.
“As soon as a structural analysis can be completed and reviewed on the new tower, mounting parts and cabling will be ordered and installation will be scheduled as soon as possible. While a firm installation date cannot be established until the structural analysis has been completed, the goal is to have the permanent system installed and on the air by September 30th,” the agency said.
The new transmitter will be located a few miles from the previous location, which means there will be some permanent changes to the broadcast coverage pattern that have yet to be determined, according to the agency.