Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has completed a series of upgrades to its weather radars in Hobart (Mt Koonya), Tasmania and Serpentine, Perth. Images from the newly upgraded radars are now live on the bureau’s website and the BOM weather app.
Simon Louis, hazard and preparedness manager – Tasmania, said, “Accurate and timely weather information is critical for local residents and industry, including aviation and resources, in and around Hobart. The upgrades to the weather radar will assist the community to track rain, wind, storms and severe weather with increased confidence.”
Todd Smith, hazard preparedness manager north and west, said, “Dual-polarized Doppler radars are a tool for observing rainfall and wind conditions in real time across large areas. They show Australians what’s happening right now and provide data as part of the Bureau’s observation network.
“The radar data is also fed into our models and forecasts to deliver rainfall and severe weather warnings, hail location and strength of wind information. This enables businesses to make better decisions when preparing for severe weather, helps farmers make timely decisions, such as movement of stock, chemical and fertilizer application, sowing and harvesting.
“Emergency services will also benefit from better fire plume height estimation and detection of fire-generated thunderstorms.”
The Mt Koonya and Serpentine weather radars are part of a comprehensive weather observation network of more than 11,000 assets including satellites, upper atmosphere monitoring, automatic weather stations, ocean buoys and flood warning networks.
This project is part of the bureau’s ongoing work to enhance and improve the Australian radar and observation network.