Labour Party

Metservice Taranaki weather radar installation

30.05.2008

Transport Safety Minister speaks at Metservice Taranaki weather radar installation

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me here today to celebrate the launch of the new MetService Taranaki weather radar.

As a Taranaki resident I am particularly pleased this radar is being installed as it will make a huge difference to the region as a whole. Everyone from farmers and growers, to weekend adventurers and town shoppers will benefit from the more accurate weather forecasting that will result.

Sometimes we forget just how beholden we are to the whims of Mother Nature, but we are often made all too aware of the sudden and devastating damage severe weather events can cause. Over time weather patterns have changed and we now find ourselves faced with more frequent and serious weather events.

Being better prepared to face such weather is a key benefit of this radar installation - it will enable early action to be taken, which can potentially save millions in economic and social costs.
About MetService weather radars

New Zealand is a country of many extremes - not the least when it comes to the weather. It's unsurprising then that a forecasting service has been operating in New Zealand since 1861, when a spate of shipwrecks prompted the government to start a storm warning service as part of what was then known as the Marine Department.

That service has continued in one form or another until this day, and now with the MetService, we have a forecasting agency which is the envy of the world.
For this high level of forecasting to continue, weather radars such as this are fundamental for increasing the quality of MetService's existing severe weather warning service, particularly for severe weather conditions specific to localised areas.

The difference between these radars and standard ground based monitoring equipment is that they can provide detailed, real-time information and analysis of severe weather structures within frontal systems.
This shows the extent, intensity and movement of rain areas which can then be fed to forecasters, hydrologists and emergency managers who monitor the duration and location of heavy rain and receive estimates of the amount of rain that is falling.

As well as this, weather radars can indicate the location of smaller scale thunderstorms within rain bands which are likely to produce localised areas of intense rainfall.

Data from weather radar can also be fed into flood prediction models, providing much better information on areas likely to be at risk of flooding.
We have all seen the devastating losses that can occur as the result of sudden storms. Given our very strong local agricultural economy here in Taranaki, this kind of information could make all the difference when making decisions on moving stock to higher ground or more sheltered paddocks, harvesting crops or closing roads.

Weather radars will soon also be installed in Bay of Plenty and the Gisborne/Hawke's Bay area to support a new severe convection/thunderstorm warning service and enhance existing warning systems.

These areas along with Taranaki and Waikato are priority regions for weather radar, as in the past 36 years there has been a total of 130 weather related Civil Defence Declarations - 77 of these Declarations have involved evacuations and 23 fatalities.

It is obvious that the need for a highly responsive forecasting service continues to be strong. The Government remains committed to the ongoing success of MetService - providing $17 million a year towards the operation of the service.
Just last week, my Parliamentary colleague Dr Michael Cullen announced the Government will provide an additional $4.8 million in funding over the next four years for MetService to provide severe convection warning services for all areas within 150 kilometres of weather radar sites to offer more accurate weather forecasting around the country.

An ‘extended range brief mountain forecast' will also be funded to provide weather information for mountain areas above 800 metres.

As well as this, new radars will be installed in Northland and the West Coast of the South Island. Northland is particularly susceptible to high intensity rainfall and flooding, and is often the first region to feel the effects of tropical and sub - tropical cyclones. We need to look back no further than February this year for the region's most recent flooding. The West Coast is also at risk of intense thunder storm activity and, as we have seen in recent years, some very destructive tornadoes.

As you can see the value of these radars cannot be underestimated as a major tool not only in predicting severe weather events, but also saving our economy and society millions in weather related losses.

Thank you to those of you here today who have worked hard to see this radar installed in Taranaki and thank you also to MetService for the excellent weather forecasting service you provide.
It now gives me great pleasure to cut the ribbon on this Taranaki weather radar.

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Metservice Taranaki weather radar installation

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