National Weather Service reports nationwide radar website outage amid FAA stop

On Friday, November 13, the National Weather Service (NWS) disclosed widespread internet and communication problems, warning that some weather data might be delayed or outdated on their websites. The agency confirmed technicians were actively working to rectify the disruption as swiftly as feasible. Their notice stated, "The NWS has been experiencing nation-wide internet and communications issues.

You may not be able to access products on our webpages, or these products will be old. Technicians are actively working to resolve these issues as soon as possible."

Despite the disruption, local NWS offices were still issuing watches, warnings, and forecasts. These services remained accessible through certain external websites. The NWS expressed regret for the inconvenience, yet did not provide a timeline for the restoration of typical website operations. The nationwide interruption was impacting access to weather information on NWS websites, including potentially outdated forecasts and other weather products.

The agency had previously admitted an outage affecting its online radar platform, radar.weather.gov. It remains uncertain whether the issues are confined to online access and communication systems or if they are affecting other NWS operations. However, the NWS reaffirmed that local offices continued to issue weather alerts and forecasts during the disruption.

This incident occurred as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) separately ordered a nationwide ground stop for departing flights across the country. The FAA cited communication issues with Air Route Traffic Control Centers as the cause, with the ground stop taking effect at 2:54 p.m. Central Time. The FAA estimated the ground stop would last until 10 p.m. Central Time, though final confirmation of when flights would resume was not yet available.

No confirmed link has been established between the NWS's communication problems and the FAA's ground stop.