BOM’s new radar CRASHES as millions are smashed by dangerous thunderstorms in latest critique of the ‘confusing’ $4million redesign
The Bureau of Meteorology’s controversial new weather radar crashed as brutal thunderstorms threatened parts of south-east Queensland.
The radar on BoM’s mobile phone app went down on Thursday afternoon, with some residents reporting significant lags and others seeing nothing but a loading wheel.
A message displayed on the radar app warning users to ‘note the time shown with the map’ as ‘some information is not complete but we’re working on it’.
It came as wild weather lashed parts of the state’s southeast, with severe thunderstorm warnings active across the Capricornia, Wide Bay and Burnett.
Earlier warnings for Somerset, the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay council areas have since been cancelled.
The incident came at a troubling time for the bureau after it was accused of bungling its launch of its new website last week ahead of earlier storms in Queensland.
Meteorologist Anthony Cornelius advised users to make use of the old radar, which can still be accessed at reg.bom.gov.au.
‘For those monitoring the storms in Southeast Queensland, it’s worth noting the new BoM radar site is currently down and showing OLD images,’ he wrote on Facebook.
Meteorologist Anthony Cornelius shared a side-by-side image comparing BOM’s old radar (left) with its updated version (right). The new radar appeared to lag behind its predecessor
The new radar showed no weather on some phones during the incident on Thursday and warned users ‘some information is not complete, but we’re working on it’
BOM chief executive Dr Peter Stone (pictured) apologised for the controversial rollout of the bureau’s new website following widespread backlash from users
Meanwhile, users took to social media to vent their frustrations, with many pledging to use third party weather sites.
‘Byron Bay just copped a torrential drenching, but the new BOM radar was showing that the main part of the storm would go south of us,’ one user wrote.
‘I had no idea there (were) storms on the way. When I checked the BOM website it shows two hours ago (and) just a tiny rain patch,’ another said.
A third accused the bureau of not understanding ‘the importance of the ordinary person tracking dangerous thunderstorms and how it impacts out choices in risky weather.’
A bureau spokesperson told the Daily Mail the outage was not related in any way to the adoption of the new website and has since been resolved.
‘Bureau staff investigated and identified an interruption to the flow of observed rainfall data which is used in the ‘rain rate’ radar images,’ they said.
‘This data feed was quickly reinstated, and all radar images were restored.’
They added its forecasts and warnings were unaffected by the outage and are based on a combination of many observing systems.
BOM’s mobile phone app radar went down on Thursday as severe storms threatened parts of south-east Queensland
Queenslands south-east has been lashed by another bout of thunderstorms following days of wild weather last week (pedestrians are pictured in Brisbane earlier this year)
The new Bureau of Meteorology website which was done at a cost of $4million
The former website, which many have said was a better design
The new website, which cost $4million, was launched last Wednesday days before severe storms left about 120,000 homes without power in the state’s south-east.
Residents complained they were left in the dark, scrambling to make sense of the site’s new colour scheme and rainfall measurements.
Premier David Crisafulli sad the new website was ‘flawed’ while Treasurer David Janetzki said the timing of the changes put ‘the lives and safety of Queenslanders at risk’.
Dr Stone acknowledged the concerns raised by users but defended the features offered on the new website in a statement on Wednesday.
‘It’s clear we need to do more to help people through the change, both by making adjustments to the website and by helping users to understand its new features,’ he said.
He added the new site was ‘specifically designed to enhance access to public safety information.’
‘We are moving quickly to act on the feedback received, and I am confident the community will start to see more improvements in the coming weeks,’ he said.
A spokesperson for the Bureau previously told the Daily Mail the changes came off the back of user research and testing and a 15 month beta trial.
‘During that time, community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,’ they said.
They added a dip in user satisfaction was to be expected following the changes and said it expects it will increase as users become more familiar with the site.
