Keynote: Challenges in weather radar deployment

Weather radar is one of the most important monitoring tools used by weather forecasters, hydrologists and researchers. Over the past 20 years we have supplied a number of radars for National Meteorological Services in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. As is the rule in the provision of radars anywhere, the key factor is providing value-for-money. In addition though there are some valuable lessons and experiences that may be unique to the region. These relate to determining clearly the primary purpose of the radar, settling a budget, choosing the type of radar that best suits the purpose, siting the antenna and displays, maximising the effective use of the data through operational procedures, training staff and maintenance and replacement strategies.