The National Weather Service said its radar systems remained operational despite internet and communication problems affecting some online services on Nov. 13. (Foto: Instagram)
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported internet and communication problems across the United States on Friday, Nov. 13, warning that some information on its websites might be unavailable or out of date. The agency said its radar systems were operating normally and that radar.weather.gov was fully functional.
The NWS said technicians were working to fix the digital service problems as quickly as possible. The disruption could prevent users from accessing information on official websites or cause them to see outdated forecasts and other products. The agency apologized for the inconvenience but did not say when its online services would return to normal.
The weather service also rejected social media claims that its radar network had gone down. It said reports suggesting an interruption were based on outdated content from individual webpages, and reiterated that its radars were functioning normally. Regional offices continued issuing weather alerts, hazard advisories and forecasts, according to the NWS.
The technical problems occurred on the same day the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide halt to takeoffs, citing safety concerns and “extraordinary circumstances.” About 3,100 aircraft were in the air awaiting permission to land while U.S. air traffic was halted, according to Flight Radar.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications problem affecting all of the country’s air traffic control centers prompted the nationwide flight suspension. Aircraft arriving from outside the United States were not automatically covered by the restriction. The FAA said it would assess those flights individually based on safety conditions.
