Mount Isa’s new Doppler weather radar has officially commenced operations, providing forecasting and coverage to the densely populated town centre and large areas of Queensland’s northwest for the first time.

 

Officially commissioning the new radar, Senator Don Farrell, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, said it was a significant addition to the Bureau's national radar network.

 

"The new Mount Isa radar provides coverage from the Northern Territory border east, to the area between Cloncurry and Richmond, and from Boulia north, towards the gulf of Carpenteria," Senator Farrell said.

 

"The weather-watch radar provides 'nowcasting' capability to monitor severe weather events including floods, thunderstorms, and ex-tropical cyclones in northwest Queensland."

 

 

The new radar service was funded through the Federal Government’s $48 million Strategic Radar Enhancement Program (SREP), which ahas delivered new radar stations for Hobart, Wollongong and now Mount Isa.

 

"The new radar will substantially improve the ability of communities to track weather, following forecasts and warnings delivered through the Bureau's website, and broadcast by local media," Senator Farrell said.

 

"The Mount Isa radar represents a significant improvement in Bureau's ability to make weather observations in northwest Queensland and to warn the community about the potential impacts of severe weather as these events unfold."