Temporary weather radar to be installed at Wyndham with permanent equipment to take three years to replace

The Wyndham weather radar will take up to three years to be replaced according to the Bureau of Meteorology, but a temporary radar is scheduled to be operating by October. It marks a significant revision to the schedule originally provided to the Kimberley Echo by the bureau in January, which projected the radar to be replaced in April. The radar was taken out of action after being struck by lightning on Christmas Day, causing a fire that caused extensive damage to the radar. According to the bureau, buying and installing a new radar is a significant investment that can take several years due to radar manufacturing involving high-precision engineering, specialised components, low-volume production, and rigorous reliability standards. However, the temporary radar can be installed much quicker and will provide the same weather information albeit with a smaller coverage area. The temporary radar will also have Doppler and dual‑polarisation capability, which were not available on the old radar, allowing wind speed measurements and better image correction. But Wyndham pastoralist Roderick Woodland said it was “absolutely bullsh...” that the tower would not be repaired for another three years. Along with wife Alida Woodland, the pair run about 5500 head of shorthorn cross droughtmaster cattle across the property nestled between the Cockburn and Erskine ranges. “I know we live in the north and away from everything, and they don’t sort of care for as much up here until it’s broken — I just can’t understand how it’s going to take three years to replace that thing,” he said. Mr Woodland said the forecast provided by the bureau was heavily relied upon by the station and surrounding stations for travel to nearby towns for supplies. “It’s a pretty important thing to have, especially this time of year . . . you can see decent storms coming your way,” he said. A trip to the shops in Wyndham is 40km away for the Woodlands, and 140km from Kununurra. “Any rains is good rains up in this country, you need the grass to come back a bit to get good feed,” Mr Woodland said. “But if we’ve got a wet season — like this one, or a big one — that’s handy to know especially when we’re going into town and we know the river’s running. “If it’s still crossable we can look it up on the radar and see how far the storms are and if we’ve got time to get into town and get back.” Neighbouring stations Home Valley and Carlton Hill also rely on the information provided by the weather radar. However, the bureau said its weather forecasts and weather warning service were designed to not be dependent on any one piece of equipment and forecasts and weather warnings would continue as usual. “While radars are an important part of the bureau’s observations network, and we understand the value the community places on them, they are one part of a composite observing network that we draw data from for forecasting,” WA BoM manager James Ashley said. “While the temporary radar is being installed, it will be business-as-usual for the bureau’s warning services and forecasts for the north-east Kimberley and north-west Gregory districts. “We work very closely with emergency services and keep them informed of changes to all information sources.”