National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in Romeoville, Illinois, currently provides programming for 11
NOAA Weather Radio stations.
KWO39 Chicago KWO39 regular programming serves marine interests on southern Lake Michigan and the Illinois and Indiana lake-shore. KWO39 also carries severe weather watches and warnings for
Cook,
DuPage, and
Lake counties in
Illinois, plus
Lake and
Porter counties in
Indiana.
History This station first began in 1954 as the first weather radio system in the Chicago area dedicated to the
aviation user and continued until 1958 when the aviation broadcast went
dark. Ivan Brunk, meteorologist in charge of the Chicago U.S. Weather Bureau (now National Weather Service) office at that time, suggested that the radio service be reinstated and put to
Marine usage on an experimental basis. The marine weather broadcast was an immediate success, and the service became permanent two years later. Throughout the 1960s, programming was expanded to include
weather information for the general public, as well as the marine community. In the early 1970s, the forecast office moved from the
University of Chicago to a location on West Pershing Rd. The 300 watt transmitter was located on the roof of the six-story building where it remained until 1975 when the transmitter was relocated to the Sears Tower (now
Willis Tower).
KZZ81 Lockport KZZ81 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
Cook,
DuPage,
Grundy,
Kane,
Kankakee,
Kendall,
Lake, &
Will counties in
Illinois as well as
Lake County in
Indiana. Hourly conditions on this station are reported for the following locations:
O'Hare Airport,
The Lakefront,
Joliet,
Aurora,
Waukegan,
Springfield,
Bloomington,
Midway Airport,
Rockford,
Kankakee,
Peru,
Pontiac,
Rantoul,
Wheeling,
Morris,
Moline,
Milwaukee,
Madison, Wisconsin.
KXI41 Crystal Lake KXI41 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
Boone,
Cook,
Kane,
Lake, &
McHenry counties in
Illinois, plus
Kenosha &
Walworth counties in
Wisconsin.
KXI58 Plano KXI58 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
DeKalb,
DuPage,
Grundy,
Kane,
Kendall,
LaSalle, &
Will counties in
Illinois.
KZZ57 Rockford KZZ57 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
Winnebago,
Boone,
Ogle,
DeKalb,
Lee &
Stephenson counties in
Illinois, plus
Green &
Rock counties in
Wisconsin. Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in
Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Stephenson County being issued by the National Weather Service office in
Davenport, Iowa, and Green and Rock counties in Wisconsin being issued by the National Weather Service office in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in
Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Marshall, Woodford, and McLean Counties being issued by the
National Weather Service Central Illinois located in
Lincoln, Illinois.
KXI86 Crescent City KXI86 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
Ford,
Kankakee,
Iroquois, &
Vermilion Counties in
Illinois, as well as
Newton &
Benton Counties in
Indiana. Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in
Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Vermilion County being issued by the
National Weather Service Central Illinois located in
Lincoln, Illinois. Programming for Ogle and Lee counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in
Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for Carroll Whiteside & Bureau counties being issued by the National Weather Service office located in
Davenport, Iowa.
WNG689 Hebron WNG689 broadcasts weather and hazard information for
Lake,
Porter,
Newton,
Jasper,
LaPorte,
Starke &
Pulaski Counties in
Indiana. Programming for most counties is provided from the National Weather Service Chicago Forecast Office in
Romeoville, Illinois, with warnings for LaPorte, Starke, and Pulaski Counties being issued by the National Weather Service Northern Indiana located in
Syracuse, Indiana. ==First-order/climate sites==