People in the Fitzroy, Condamine and Burnett River catchments battered by fierce storms early in the year will now have a new weather radar station at Taroom to help them track rain, wind, storms and severe weather.
Last November, COVID restrictions were given as the reason for delays to the installation of the new radar.
February was given as the projected completion date, dependent on potential ongoing restrictions, but Bureau of Meteorology Chief Customer Officer Dr Peter Stone said last week the images from the newly installed radar were now live on the BoM website.
"Dual-polarised Doppler technology weather radars are one of the best tools for observing real-time rainfall and wind conditions across large areas, and we know this information is highly valuable for communities, particularly primary producers," he said.
"Images from the radar are now live on the Bureau's website and the app will benefit communities as far as Woorabinda, Baralaba, Moura and Biloela to the north, Mundubbera and Gayndah to the east, Miles, Surat, Tara and Chinchilla to the south, and Injune and Roma to the west."
The Taroom radar is one of four new radars being delivered for Queensland, with $77.2 million funding from the federal government.
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The existing radar in Moree in northern NSW will also be relocated to Boggabilla to provide increased coverage into southern Queensland.
Dr Stone said while radars were important tools, the Bureau's forecast and weather warning service was resilient and not dependent on any one piece of equipment.
"This Taroom 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," he said.
"Forecasts and warnings for all regions are based on a combination of many of these different observing systems.
"More than 90 per cent of data that feed into the Bureau's weather models come from satellites.
"The network provides a comprehensive dataset that enables communities to effectively respond to weather events."
The Taroom radar is part of the most significant upgrade of Australia's radar and observation network in a generation.
By June 2024, the Bureau of Meteorology will deliver eight new radars, plus upgrades to 46 radars, nearly 700 automatic weather stations and 200 flood warning network assets.
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
