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Townsville Radar

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Townsville Radar Notes

Townsville (Hervey Range)Queensland QLD19.4196°S 146.5511°E 590m AMSL
LocationHervey Range
Radar TypeDWSR 2502 C band
Typical Availability24 hours

Interpretation Notes: The site at Hervey Range is at elevation (590m) making it a fairly good site for Townsville's main weather watch radar. It does however suffer some obstruction to its view due to the higher terrain around the region. Mt Elliott (1234m) lies approximately 40km to the ESE and considerably restricts the radar's ability to see light to moderate precipitation echoes in that direction. The Hervey Range itself to the west and the Paluma Range to the northwest can obscure early development of thunderstorms, but fully developed storms are picked up well. SE trade wind showers are common along the coast during the dry season and the radar's range for these extends from offshore Innisfail to Bowen. It is possible that coastal locations between these towns and locations inland of Ingham may experience light to moderate showers that are not picked up on the Hervey Range radar, that might be detected by the adjacent radars at Bowen (Abbot Point) and Cairns (Saddle Mountain). Very distant showers in the Coral Sea may also not be better detected by these adjacent radars due to their superior ocean outlook. Low level drizzle can also go undetected due to the radar beam going over the top of the precipitation. Heavy rain over the radar site will cause attenuation of all signals. Path attenuation also occurs when the radar beam passes through an intense thunderstorm cell; the returned signal from cells further along that path will be reduced. Apart from these features, the radar performs well and gives a reasonably accurate representation of rainfall intensity.

About Future Radar

Future radar is a new drop-down option available on the Weatherzone radar, allowing you to see where precipitation may fall in the next 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hour timeframe. It is a prediction that uses past radar and satellite data to infer the movement and intensity of precipitation. This differs from observed radar which uses physical instrumentation to measure and render precipitation as it happens.

Future radar performs best with broad scale weather systems. However there are limitations in its performance when volatile convective systems develop and change within a short timeframe, as these scenarios provide local impacts that are difficult to predict in terms of speed, direction, intensity and shape.

To help visually distinguish between past timeframes and future timeframes, the radar animation will show predicted radar imagery at reduced opacity. You have the option to turn future radar on or off as it suits your needs.

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Map Legend

Lightning Heatmap

  • 0.1
  • 15
  • 60
Lightning Pulses / Square kilometre per minute

Lightning Strikes

  • Latest
  • 15 MINS AGO
  • 30 MINS AGO
  • 45 MINS AGO
  • 60 MINS AGO

PlusGround Strike

SquareCloud to Cloud Strike

Obs Field (Rainfall - 10 mins)

  • < 0.2
  • < 0.6
  • < 1.2
  • < 2.4
  • < 5
  • < 10
  • 10+

Obs Field (Rainfall - Since 9AM)

  • < 0.2
  • < 5
  • < 10
  • < 25
  • < 50
  • < 100
  • 100+

Obs Field (Temperature)

0° C15° C40° C

Obs Field (Dew Point)

0° C10° C30° C

Obs Field (Wind km/h)

  • 0 - 19
  • 20 - 30
  • 31 - 39
  • 40 - 61
  • 62 - 87
  • 88+

Rain radar

Legend Rainfall Intensity

Light

Heavy

Thunderstorm Risk

  • Thunderstorms possible
  • Thunderstorms likely
  • Thunderstorms severe

Temperature Gradient Map

  • -8 °C
  • -4 °C
  • 0 °C
  • 4 °C
  • 8 °C
  • 12 °C
  • 16 °C
  • 24 °C
  • 28 °C
  • 32 °C
  • 36 °C
  • 40 °C
  • 44 °C
  • 48 °C

Warning Areas (BOM)

  • SEVERE WEATHER
  • FIRE
  • FLOOD
  • COASTAL WIND
  • MISC.

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