Emerald 256km Radar/Lightning

LocationEmerald Radar TypeDWSR 8502S 2° S-band Typical Availability24 hours

Geographical Situation: The radar is located on a gentle rise 9km east of Emerald township on Foley Rd, just off the Capricorn Highway. The radar is ideally sited to provide meteorological coverage for the surrounding area, with an almost unobstructed view in all directions.

Meteorological Aspects: The radar is well situated to monitor rain bearing weather systems that may affect the catchments and valleys of Lake Maraboon, the Nogoa river and Theresa Creek systems. Thunderstorms, rain bearing depressions, troughs and fronts will be able to be tracked and the distribution of rainfall produced by these systems can be monitored to provide valuable information for flood and severe weather warnings.

Non-meteorological aspects: In most cases the processing of the radar signal removes permanent echoes caused by obstructions such as hills, buildings and other solid objects. Occasionally, some permanent echoes will not be completely removed from the display. These echoes usually occur as isolated, stationary patches. In the Doppler wind product, road traffic on the Capricorn Highway may occasionally be noticeable near the radar.

• 16:03 AEDT Tropics awakening, increasing risk of cyclones, heavy rain and storms
• 10:49 AEDT Pre-summer heatwave hitting southeastern Australia
• 13:16 AEDT Heavy rain to soak Queensland's central coast on Thursday
• 11:18 AEDT Storm-producing juggernaut drenching the west