KIH20
Encyclopedia
KIH20 is a NOAA Weather Radio
station
that serves the greater Huntsville, Alabama
, area. It broadcasts weather forecasts and hazard information for Jackson
, Lawrence
, Limestone
, Madison
, Marshall
, and Morgan
Counties in Alabama
plus Giles and Lincoln
Counties in Tennessee
.
, and was one of the first NOAA weather radio transmitters in the country. The antenna was originally on the WYUR-TV48 (now WAFF
) tower on the south side of Monte Sano Mountain. Around 1980 it was moved to the APT
/WHIQ-TV25 tower as APT began to cooperate with the National Weather Service on locating transmitters statewide. When Birmingham took over forecasting duties in 1997 the voice on this transmitter was changed to a computer-generated voice, in part to speed up the warning transmission process. This older transmitter began to malfunction and not activate alarms consistently around 1998 and was finally replaced with a new transmitter in 2003 when WHIQ's transmitter building on Read Drive was gutted by a fire.
attempted to close the Huntsville weather office and transfer broadcasting, forecasting, and warning duties to the Birmingham, Alabama
, office in the mid-1990s. Forecasting was shifted to Birmingham in 1997 but efforts by Congressman Bud Cramer kept the NWS from completely dismantling the Huntsville office and eventually resulted in the office being once again full-staffed and equipped with modern Doppler
weather radar
gear. In November 2002, the National Weather Service announced that weather broadcast, warning, and forecast responsibilities for North Alabama as well as river forecast and flood warning duties would be returned to the re-opened Huntsville office on January 14, 2003.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. It is operated by the NWS, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of...
station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
that serves the greater Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, area. It broadcasts weather forecasts and hazard information for Jackson
Jackson County, Alabama
Jackson County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Andrew Jackson, general in the United States Army and President of the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 53,227. The county seat is Scottsboro. Jackson County is a prohibition or dry county,...
, Lawrence
Lawrence County, Alabama
Lawrence County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It was named after James Lawrence, a captain in the United States Navy from New Jersey. As of the 2010 census, the population was...
, Limestone
Limestone County, Alabama
Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area.It is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Metro Area. Its name comes from Limestone Creek, a local stream. In 2000, the population was 65,676. As of 2010 the county's...
, Madison
Madison County, Alabama
Madison County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is a major part of the Huntsville Metropolitan Area.It is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The county is named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America, and the...
, Marshall
Marshall County, Alabama
Marshall County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Its name is in honor of John Marshall, famous Chief Justice of the United States. As of 2010 the population was 93,019...
, and Morgan
Morgan County, Alabama
Morgan County is the most populous county in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the second most populous county in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. State of Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Territorial legislature on February 6, 1818 from land acquired from the...
Counties in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
plus Giles and Lincoln
Lincoln County, Tennessee
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. , the population was 31,340. Its county seat is Fayetteville. It is named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
Counties in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
History
KIH20 went on the air in January 19761976 in radio
The year 1976 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*September - Fairchild Industries sells WYOO-FM and AM in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
, and was one of the first NOAA weather radio transmitters in the country. The antenna was originally on the WYUR-TV48 (now WAFF
WAFF (TV)
WAFF is the NBC television network affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 49 and serves the northern portion of Alabama and several counties in southern Tennessee.-Decatur years, 1954 - 69:...
) tower on the south side of Monte Sano Mountain. Around 1980 it was moved to the APT
Alabama Public Television
Alabama Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations serving the US state of Alabama. The television stations are licensed by the Alabama Educational Television Commission, which was created by the Alabama state...
/WHIQ-TV25 tower as APT began to cooperate with the National Weather Service on locating transmitters statewide. When Birmingham took over forecasting duties in 1997 the voice on this transmitter was changed to a computer-generated voice, in part to speed up the warning transmission process. This older transmitter began to malfunction and not activate alarms consistently around 1998 and was finally replaced with a new transmitter in 2003 when WHIQ's transmitter building on Read Drive was gutted by a fire.
Controversy
As a cost-cutting measure, the National Weather ServiceNational Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
attempted to close the Huntsville weather office and transfer broadcasting, forecasting, and warning duties to the Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, office in the mid-1990s. Forecasting was shifted to Birmingham in 1997 but efforts by Congressman Bud Cramer kept the NWS from completely dismantling the Huntsville office and eventually resulted in the office being once again full-staffed and equipped with modern Doppler
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
gear. In November 2002, the National Weather Service announced that weather broadcast, warning, and forecast responsibilities for North Alabama as well as river forecast and flood warning duties would be returned to the re-opened Huntsville office on January 14, 2003.