No Portland area radar?!?

4:45 this morning I did what I always do: I checked online to see if there was any rain on the radar and the outdoor temperature.  I didn't see anything on the radar, so I set out with the dog.

Outside it was cool and dry, and very nice.  Then about 8 blocks into the walk, it started pouring, and not just a light drizzle, but a hard downpour.  I stopped under a canopy and pulled my phone out to double-check the radar...and the radar said there wasn't anything there.  Say whaaaaat?

I get home, all soaked, change out of the drenched clothes, get my breakfast going, and turn the news on.  According to their radar and their outdoor report, just a light rain.  I'm rolling my eyes, looking at the completely soaked ground in the video.  He goes on to say that there might be some light, scattered showers, but nothing heavy.

Obviously the weather guy is wrong.

So I go online and check the NOAA radar, and there it is...

THE KRTX PORTLAND, OREGON, NATIONAL SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE AROUND NOON TODAY (September 12). THIS BEGINS ITS PREVIOUSLY ADVERTISED DUAL POLARIZATION UPGRADE. THE UPGRADE FOR THIS NEW EXCITING RADAR TECHNOLOGY IS EXPECTED TO TAKE FROM 10 TO 14 DAYS TO COMPLETE.

Ahhhhh!!!  Why did they wait until the middle of September to replace the radar???  Surely, surely, SURELY, they would have looked at the statistics, and chosen JULY - the driest month in Portland - and not September, which averages three times more precipitation than July, right?  RIGHT?

WHY, NOAA?  WHY?