Impact of RNDSUP Doppler radars on forecast operations in Adelaide and Brisbane

As part of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Radar Network and Doppler Services Upgrade Project (RNDSUP), four high resolution, narrow beam-width, S-band Doppler radars are being installed in major population centres, which historically, have experienced significant losses from severe weather damage, particularly severe thunderstorm damage. The first two of these radars were installed in Adelaide, South Australia and Brisbane, Queensland, in mid 2005 and late 2005 respectively. The third, in Melbourne, Victoria, is due for completion by mid 2007 and the fourth, in Sydney, New South Wales, is expected to come on line by 2008.

As a result of these new generation radars, operational forecasters in Adelaide and Brisbane have been exposed to "clear-air" reflectivity data and Doppler velocity data for the first time. A significant training program has been undertaken to facilitate the integration of these new data types into the forecast and warning process, however it is still too early to be able to attribute any quantitative improvement in standard forecast and warning performance measures to the introduction of the Doppler radars.

Never-the-less, feedback from forecasters does indicate that the new data has impacted positively on the quality of service they provide and this paper describes several specific examples. The examples include fire weather, aviation, severe and marine weather, and serve to demonstrate that the service benefits of S1 Doppler radar data extend well beyond severe thunderstorm warning services.