The Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Karratha dual-polarized Doppler radar has gone live and begun providing images. The Karratha radar will reportedly provide better image resolution and visibility of weather systems and less image interference than the temporary radar at Dampier.
Dual-polarized Doppler radar
Specifically, the radar will provide higher-quality images during intense rain and storms and improve the image resolution between rain and hail. The new radar will have some areas of overlapping coverage with the Learmonth and Port Hedland radars. To construct the Karratha radar, the Bureau of Meteorology required a self-propelled modular transporter, essentially a giant remote-controlled truck, to get the tower segments to the top of the radar site.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s updated infrastructure
The new radar was built to replace a temporary radar in Dampier, which was put in place to replace the previous Dampier radar after it was damaged by Cyclone Damien in February 2020. The temporary Dampier radar will remain in place for up to six months, to ensure continuous radar coverage while the bureau completes monitoring and optimization of the new Karratha radar.
James Ashley, Western Australia manager at the Bureau of Meteorology, said, “The new dual-polarized Doppler radar is an important tool for observing rainfall and wind conditions in real time across large areas, including approaching tropical cyclones. The new Karratha weather radar will benefit communities, emergency services and local industry across parts of the Pilbara region, Dampier Archipelago and surrounding areas.”
In related news, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) recently completed its seven-year Robust upgrade program, which involved the transformation of the bureau’s information and observing technology systems. Click here to read the full story.