Radar upgrade boosts Cape York weather warnings and forecasts
26/08/2015
The Bureau of Meteorology has replaced and upgraded the Weipa weather watch radar, which will provide more frequent, higher resolution Doppler images on the Bureau's website from today (25 August).
The radar will provide improved services for emergency services, bauxite mining and graziers in the northern Cape York region. This includes more frequent updates of higher resolution images, going from scans every 10 minutes, to more regular updates every 6 minutes.
The radar - located at Weipa Airport, 360m from the previous radar location - will give forecasters improved ‘nowcasting’ capabilities to more accurately monitor severe weather events including tropical cyclones and flood-producing rains.
It is well located for detecting tropical cyclones over the north eastern Gulf of Carpentaria and for tracking thunderstorms approaching Weipa and the RAAF Base Scherger from inland.
The radar has good visibility in most directions and is able to detect precipitation from the Torres Strait in the north, the north eastern Gulf of Carpentaria, and to Pompuraaw in the south. Early indications are that communities along the eastern parts of Cape York Peninsula will have improved coverage from the new radar.
Meteorologists extract important information from the radar, on the location, intensity and movement of storms and rainfall, and on the associated wind fields.
This information is combined with other observations, such as satellite and surface observations, and with numerical models, as a basis for weather forecasts and warnings.
