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Wednesday, 9 June 2010 MEDIA RELEASE - WESTERN AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL OFFICE NEW PERTH RADAR UP AND RUNNINGParliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia Gary Gray, today officially commissioned the new radar at Serpentine that will improve weather alert coverage within 200 kilometres of Perth. "This radar is part of the Federal Government’s $62 million weather radar replacement and upgrade initiative, which will improve the Bureau of Meteorology’s severe weather warning capabilities," Mr Gray said. "The importance of radar to the community was highlighted in March, when radar imagery was used extensively to monitor and track the severe hail storm that struck Perth. "This new radar will play an important role in providing enhanced weather services to inform and protect families, business and farmers in Perth and surrounding towns," he said. "This more sensitive radar will provide detailed data to support meteorological forecasts for the region. The radar incorporates the latest technology and generates high resolution images every ten minutes," Mr Gray said. The Serpentine radar will support:
"The radar will provide improved coverage for the Perth metropolitan area and its surrounds, and will provide Bureau forecasters with more detailed information on rainfall from summer storms and winter cold fronts." In the 2009 budget, the Federal Government announced a further $48 million program to install four new radars around Australia as well as invest in underlying scientific research to develop new capabilities for the Australian radar network. Media Contacts: |