Overview

Australia's weather radars are operated by the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

, an executive agency of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

. The radar network is continually being upgraded with new technology such as doppler and dual polarisation to provide better now-casting. Doppler radars are able to detect the movement of precipitation, making it very useful in detecting damaging winds associated with precipitation, and determining if a thunderstorm has a rotating updraft, a key indicator of the presence of the most dangerous type of thunderstorm, a

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...

. The new dual polarisation radars give forecasters the ability to: *Detect debris in the atmosphere, leading to more accurate tornado warnings; *Distinguish between different precipitation types, leading to better estimations of hail size and severity; *Better identify areas of heavy rainfall, leading to more accurate flood warnings; *Discern between precipitation and non-meteorological echoes such as

chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...

, birds, and insects.

The Dual Polarisation Transition

The transition to polarimetric (dual-polarised) radars began in 2017 with the upgrade of 4 Meteor 1500 radars located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. The network has further been enhanced through the installation of 8 new polarimetric Meteor 735 radars across WA,

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and a polarimetric WRM200 radar manufactured by

Vaisala Vaisala Oyj () is a Finnish company that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for environmental and industrial measurement. Their major customer groups and markets are national meteorological and hydrological services, aviat ...

to replace an aging radar in Dampier, WA. 4 new Meteor 1700's were also installed in 2021/22, 3 located in

QLD ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and 1 in

Perth, WA Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...

, all equipped with dual polarisation technology. All the radars with the model name 'Meteor' were manufactured by

Selex ES Selex ES was a subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A., active in the electronics and information technology business, based in Italy and the UK, and formed in January 2013, following Finmeccanica's decision to combine its existing SELEX Elsag and ...

, now

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

Future plans

The BoM has plans to; *Add a new radar in Tennant Creek, NT. *Replace the Marburg radar in SE QLD. *Move the existing Moree radar in

further north to better cover SE QLD. *Upgrade the Carnarvon radar in WA. *Build a new radar in the Toowomba region in SE QLD. *Upgrade the Giles radar in WA. *Upgrade the Hobart Airport radar in TAS. *Upgrade the Bowen radar in QLD. *Upgrade the Grafton radar in NSW. *Upgrade the Canberra Captains Flat radar located in NSW. Current plans can be found at

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory is served by the Captains Flat radar, located in New South Wales (see below).

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Research Radars

Note: *The

operated the CP2 and CPOL radars before they were decommissioned. *The

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

currently operates the Ocean Pol radar aboard the

RV Investigator A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...

but the BoM is still involved with research regarding it. *The UQHAIL radar is operated by a team at the University of Queensland.