New Key West NWS Office

June 20, 2006, 8:21 pm
Posted by James Spann in Pictures
Rating: 5/5   Votes : 3
Thanks to Alston Keith of Inverness for this update and the pictures of the new National Weather Service Office in Key West, Florida...

Alston writes:

As promised, here are my pictures from the tour we took of the new Key West NWS office.  I really enjoyed seeing their operations. Items of note:  the building is built to withstand winds up to 160 MPH, the shelter is reinforced concrete that is built to withstand winds of 250 MPH+ (including missiles/debris).  The room will hold up to 100 people and has a telephone and men/women bathroom facilities.

Just below the balloon launch tower is a room where NWS families can stay for an extended period if need be.  It can hold up to 16 people comfortably.

One other item of note...the elevation of the building is 15 feet above sea level.  According to studies done, the highest storm surge Key West could possibly receive is 14.5 feet. 


















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Posted by   www
on June 20, 2006, 8:28 pm
Cool...I read about this being in progress last year on their web site. I's love to visit there. Thanks for sharing the photos, Mr. Keith...next best thing!

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Posted by  
on June 20, 2006, 11:54 pm
Whoever did the interior decorating did a great job; it's lovely!

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Posted by  
on June 21, 2006, 7:47 am
Picture 1 - The weather balloon prep area. This is where the balloon is inflated.

Picture 2 - Area behind the office, the dome is radar used to track weather balloons that are launched twice daily.

Picture 3 - This is the entrance to the reinforced concrete shelter that can be used as a last resort for those in the building.

Picture 4 - Operations Room

Picture 5 - Operations Room

Picture 6 - First computer on right is used to control the Key West NWS radar. Second two computers control the NOAA weather radio for the forecast area.

Picture 7 - Equipment used to track weather balloons. Yes, that is an old IBM 8086 computer. They are currently replacing it with newer equipment but what they have works!

Picture 8 - Lobby of the NWS office.

Picture 9 - Exterior of building. Notice the protection for windows when needed. Those wooden panels slide down to cover the glass.
The main entrance is on the left side of the building, balloon launches are done from the tower on the right side of the building.

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