000 NOHW40 PHFO 292307 PNSHFO HIZ001>028-312315- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 107 PM HST THU MAR 29 2012 ...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HAWAII RADAR LOCATED ON SOUTH KAUAI WILL UNDERGO DUAL-POLARIZATION UPGRADE AND WILL BE OUT OF SERVICE DURING MID TO LATE MAY... THE SOUTH KAUAI WSR-88D RADAR /PHKI/...FAA IDENTIFIER /SOK/...WILL BE OUT OF SERVICE FOR AN UPGRADE TO DUAL-POLARIZATION TECHNOLOGY /DUAL-POL/ FROM MAY 14 TO MAY 27...2012. THIS IS THE LARGEST HARDWARE UPGRADE TO THE RADAR SINCE ITS DEPLOYMENT IN THE EARLY 1990S. DUAL-POL TECHNOLOGY OFFERS A NEW SET OF TOOLS TO BETTER DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN RAIN...SNOW...HAIL...MIXED PRECIPITATION AND NON-PRECIPITATION ECHOES. THIS UPGRADE PROVIDES FORECASTERS WITH BETTER RAINFALL ACCUMULATION ESTIMATES AND ENHANCED INFORMATION TO MORE EFFECTIVELY FORECAST SEVERE STORMS AND WINTER WEATHER. DUAL-POL UTILIZES A POLARMETRIC BEAM THAT DETECTS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ORIENTATION OF ATMOSPHERIC TARGETS. CONVENTIONAL RADAR ONLY DETECTS THE HORIZONTAL ORIENTATION. THE TWO-WEEK PROCESS WILL BEGIN ON MAY 14 OF THIS YEAR AND WILL BE COMPLETED BY MAY 27. DURING THIS TIME...NEIGHBORING WSR-88D RADARS WILL BE UTILIZED. THEY ARE... PHMO...HMO - MOLOKAI HI PHKM...UPP - KOHALA...ON THE BIG ISLAND PHWA...HWC - SOUTH SHORE...ON THE BIG ISLAND THESE NEIGHBORING RADARS WILL BE UPGRADED LATER THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR: PHKM...UPP - WILL BE UPGRADED IN JUNE PHWA...HWC - WILL BE UPGRADED IN EARLY 2013 PHMO...HMO - WILL BE UPGRADED IN EARLY 2013 TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DUAL POLARIZATION UPGRADE...AND FOR ACCESS TO DUAL-POL TRAINING FOR NON-NWS METEOROLOGISTS...PLEASE VISIT... WWW.WDTB.NOAA.GOV/COURSES/DUALPOL/OUTREACH - /ALL LOWER CASE/ IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS... PLEASE CONTACT HENRY LAU RADAR PROGRAM LEADER PHONE: 808-973-5270 EMAIL: HENRY.LAU@NOAA.GOV OR TOM EVANS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS PHONE: 808-973-5273 EMAIL: TOM.EVANS@NOAA.GOV $$ WEATHER.GOV/HONOLULU EVANS