Warruwi weather radar upgrade supports community, emergency services and industry

11/08/2022

Off the coast of Arnhem Land, the community on South Goulburn Island will now have access to more reliable and up-to-date weather information, with the Bureau of Meteorology completing a significant upgrade to the Warruwi weather radar.

Hazard and Preparedness Manager, NT Shenagh Gamble said over the past two months a new digital receiver and control system for the Warruwi weather radar was installed on schedule.

“Accurate and timely weather information is critical for local residents and industry, including aviation and resources, on and around South Goulburn Island,” she said.

“The upgrades to the weather radar will assist the community to track rain, wind, storms and severe weather with increased confidence."

Ms Gamble said the radar upgrade will also support emergency services to make informed time-critical decisions during severe weather events, to keep the community safe.

“The new technology in the Warruwi weather radar provides emergency services with better fire plume height estimation and the ability to detect fire-generating thunderstorms.”

The upgraded weather radar also provides improved coverage for the north coast area of the Northern Territory - linking coverage between the Gove and Darwin (Berrimah) radars - and providing more comprehensive tropical cyclone and monsoon monitoring.

Images from the newly upgraded radar are now live on the Bureau's website and BOM Weather app.

The Warruwi weather radar is one 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.

ENDS