John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
With the official start of the hurricane season only days away, the National Meteorological Centre is operating without a Doplar Radar System, which makes it difficult for the centre to report accurately on weather conditions in different parts of the island.
"We are not able to see what is happening across the island in real time, except by satellite imagery," Evan Thompson, head of the weather branch, explained to The Gleaner yesterday. But he added that depending on satellite imagery was not as reliable because the "satellite is very far away so it doesn't pinpoint areas as well as the Doplar Radar."
Said Thompson: "We are able see what is happening but not in the way that the Doplar Radar could show us a precise indication of where the rainfall is occurring at any particular time."
This means, for example, that the Meteorological Centre would be unable to determine the extent of flood rains occurring in a section of the island and would have to rely on eyewitness reports after or during the down pour.
According to Thompson, the absence of the radar system does not hinder the centre's ability to forecast the type of whether that is likely to affect the island. Apparently, this is function is assisted by the regional weather centre in Florida as well as by way of satellite information.
Mr. Thompson said the radar has been out of service for more than a week. "There was a part that went down (and) I am not too sure if lightening was the cause of that one, but the main problem is that we have to send overseas to get the part so that is why it is taking a little while." He said the part has already been ordered from the manufacturer and should arrive in the island by the first week in June.
The Met Service has been using the current Doplar Radar since 1999, which Mr. Thompson said would go out of service from time to time due to different factors. He pointed out that the Met Service does not have spare parts in store, therefore the part has to be sourced overseas whenever there is a breakdown.
