Old (left) versus new. Gone are the radar reflections from the Lake George wind turbines, and the ability to scale in to 64 km, or out to 256 km. Photos: BoM.
As a self-confessed weather nerd who constantly monitors the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) rain radar when storms, hail, southerly busters, or other weather events loom, I – like many others – was perplexed to see major changes made to the BoM’s website last week.
Gone are my shortcuts to the Sydney and Canberra radars I had loaded on my phone and desktop, and in their place is a new cover page and options for ‘Weather Map’, More maps’, and ‘More radars’, and then search options for the area I wanted. And when I finally found the radar image, it had nowhere near the fidelity nor functionality of the old radar maps.
Since the change, everyone from Brisbane residents trying to track a major hailstorm that hit the city last weekend, to the Queensland Premier, to the leader of the federal Nationals, to the Federal Environment Minister have called for changes to the new website and app to restore some of the old site’s functionality and fidelity.
The BoM announced the changes on 22 October, saying it had delivered “a secure and resilient platform that will enhance the delivery of trusted services to all Australians”.
“We designed the new website in consultation with the community to make sure it delivers the benefits people want and need,” BoM Acting CEO Dr Peter Stone said.
“Like the popular BOM Weather app, the new website’s weather map allows you to customise your experience by saving a list of your favourite locations and selecting the types of weather information that you want to see.”
But it was too late – or too soon perhaps – for many Brisbane residents who got caught by a fierce hailstorm on Sunday (26 October), and who subsequently complained that they were unable to determine the intensity of the storm due to the changes in the radar presentation which failed to show the previous dark red or black patches that denoted likely hail.
Managing director of Weatherwatch Anthony Cornelius noted in a LinkedIn post on Monday that he had been inundated with emails from the public.
“The messages all were connected to three major issues with the website,” he said.
“One – The new radar on the BoM website underestimated the intensity of the storm resulting in people unaware of the storm’s true strength; Two – the new radar on the BoM website was ‘lagging’ [with] many saying that the storm was well and truly over them well before the BoM website said it was; Three – the new design meant that they couldn’t find the information they needed when they needed it.
“It beggars belief that the BoM would roll out such a significant change to an essential infrastructure service just as the main storm season is about to start,” he added.
In a country as large and diverse as Australia, the launch of the new website was surely likely to coincide with at least one major weather event, a point senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines pointed out on ABC Radio National on Tuesday.
“It seems inevitable when you put it like that there was going to be some kind of weather event across the country on the day the website rolled out,” he said, adding, “It’s a rare day we don’t have severe weather somewhere in Australia.”
On face value that would seem like a fair point. But surely, knowing that, the BoM could have instead rolled out the changes in parallel with the old site, while retaining the old site’s original links before implementing a gradual cut across.
On Monday Queensland Premier David Crisafulli reacted to the changes when, addressing state parliament, he took the opportunity to take a dig at his federal colleagues by claiming communities were left unprepared by the “flawed” new website.
“Queenslanders always show their resilience in these events, but preparation is the key,” he said.
“That preparation depends on the information available to us, and the changes to the federally-run Bureau of Meteorology website are not good enough.
“The changes to the website don’t make sense. The website is flawed.
“Easy access to individual radars has been removed, the colour scheme we have become accustomed to has changed, and platitudes from Canberra won’t cut it with Queenslanders.”
Federal Nationals leader and member for the Queensland seat of Maranoa David Littleproud joined in.
“Given the critical importance of accurate and accessible weather and water data, especially as we approach the wet season and in the aftermath of the devastating floods experienced in April this year, I have asked Minister Watt to review the functionality of the updated BoM website and consider restoring key tools relied upon by farmers and rural communities,” he said.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said he had spoken to Dr Stone at the BoM on Tuesday about public concerns over the changes.
“It’s clear that the new BoM website is not meeting many users’ expectations, with a significant range of feedback provided to the bureau in recent days,” he said.
“In the meeting, I made clear my expectations that the BoM needed to consider this feedback and, where appropriate, adjust the website’s settings as soon as possible. This includes urgent consideration of improvements to the website’s functionality and useability.
“The Acting CEO confirmed that the BoM is considering this feedback and what adjustments can be made, while preserving the website’s reliability,” Minister Watt added.
“I strongly encourage Australians to continue to provide feedback to the BoM, to ensure changes can be made where needed.”
Fortunately, after some digging around I found the old BoM weather radars remain active, but apparently only to those in the know.
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on PS News.
