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Friday 5 November 2004 MEDIA RELEASE - HEAD OFFICE New high-tech radars for the Bureau of MeteorologyWeather services in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane will benefit from the installation of new high-tech Doppler radars over the two years, starting in April next year. The new radars will lead to significant improvements in the Bureau of Meteorology’s ability to monitor and forecast thunderstorms and heavy rain systems. Director of Meteorology Dr Geoff Love announced today that the Bureau had entered into an $8 million contract with AMS-Gematronik GmbH of Neuss, Germany, for the supply of four high-performance weather radars. The contract is part of a $62.2 million radar upgrade announced by the Government in the 2003 Federal Budget. In addition to the four capital-city radars that will be supplied through the contract, the Bureau is negotiating with an Australian company for the supply of two Doppler radars and radar sub-systems to replace a significant number of older radars in the Bureau’s national radar network. The new high-resolution Doppler radars will be able to measure wind fields in and around thunderstorms and improve monitoring of severe weather events such as damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. The radars can also be used to detect and track smoke plumes from bushfires and industrial accidents. Dr Love said today: “These state-of-the-art radars will enable forecasters to see right inside thunderstorms, such as the one that raced through Flemington on Tuesday, and provide detailed information about the storm’s movement and rainfall patterns.” Ends Further information: |