Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

A rain radar around the Taiaroa Head area of the Otago Peninsula would be a handy place for Dunedin and surrounding areas to evaluate rainfall?

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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by igaquo1 »

With regards to more frequent and more detailed radar images, in lieu of releasing more images free, I'm sure many people would be happy to pay instead. So it frustrates me that the Metservice don't even give us the opportunity to pay for it. MetConnect offers this fully comprehensive business observation and forecast package for $300 + gst per month which is way too high for any home user, but why don't they offer a radar only package, perhaps with a contract for home use only? I would be happy to pay say $150-80 a year for a radar only package. Given the pent up demand for radar images, surely this would be financially viable for the Metservice? In the UK, people can get 5min zoomable high res radar images, precipation type, lightning, accumulation and some overlays for just GBP24 per YEAR (see the attached example from my Netweather.tv subscription). Looking at the MetConnect package, most comparable would be stripping out the 7.5min radar and rain accumulation into a separate package.

Metservice: Please give us the opportunity for us to pay for more frequent and high-res radar images if you won't offer them from free!
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

igaquo1 wrote:With regards to more frequent and more detailed radar images, in lieu of releasing more images free, I'm sure many people would be happy to pay instead.
I wouldn't like to pay unless I was a forecaster and being a weather forecaster was my only source of income.

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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

I spoke to the Metservice Market Manager who is in charge of metconnect (the business/commercial site) and he said to me that Metconnect was under a restructuring so it will be possible to just get Radar images just by it self.

But it seems quite likely that the price will be out of reach for us ppl :(
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by NZstorm »

Is NZ Radar that useful? It can be handy on the odd occasion but I have to honest and say I can get by with out. The only data of interest to me at the Met Service in the real time lightning info, I could just about pay for that, but wouldn't lol.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

NZstorm wrote:Is NZ Radar that useful? It can be handy on the odd occasion but I have to honest and say I can get by with out. The only data of interest to me at the Met Service in the real time lightning info, I could just about pay for that, but wouldn't lol.

I see the free public service lightning from MetService is down, only lightning info, now, is from Rickys and Steven Grahams and a few others who have Boltex systems.

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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by 03Stormchaser »

A radar on top of my car would be good so i can dodge showers on the way to work to save me listening to the screams of my window wipers scrapping my window.....
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by igaquo1 »

Believe me, once you've had access to frequent, hi-res radar images, you can't do without them!
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by Nev »

03Stormchaser wrote:A radar on top of my car would be good so i can dodge showers on the way to work to save me listening to the screams of my window wipers scrapping my window.....
You mean something like this (complete with 'Mobile Audio Van Halen Broadcaster'), LOL :lol:
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

LOL :)
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by jamie »

igaquo1 wrote:Believe me, once you've had access to frequent, hi-res radar images, you can't do without them!
agreed
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by kaimaikid »

Maybe we should have let the Yanks build a submarine base out of Mayor Island in WWII, then we may have been included in with all their fancy weather radar reports....
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by burgla »

Yeah right !!!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by kaimaikid »

Is it just my imagination or is Metservice/Transit NZ putting in a new weather station in the gravel pit just east of the summit on SH29?
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

kaimaikid wrote:Is it just my imagination or is Metservice/Transit NZ putting in a new weather station in the gravel pit just east of the summit on SH29?
Please tell me its your imagination....

Thats the worst place to stick a weather station!!!
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Correct, Transit is. It's to monitor the summit of the road for likely Ice after it's had to be closed a few times in the last couple of years due to it. Environment BOP also has a station above there near the Telecom Microwave site on the other side of the road.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by kaimaikid »

Would be interesting to find out what frequencies and software that they will be using so that one could grab the raw data from them.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Progress report.

Sounds like they are running behind schedule. At this stage the site is practically just the concrete bunker on site. No tower installed.

I didn't ask for a timeframe.

Weather permitting I'll grab a photo this afternoon.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

There is not a lot to see at the actual site. Foundations and mains are up to the site, but no buildings yet (although I was under the impression there would be) and no sign of the tower. I somehow think they are going to be missing their August target.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

Looks like a good site. :smile:
Be interesting to where they put the Westland one, or ones, as there are lots of trees and hills over there and no projectories :-k

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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by jamie »

how far away is this now? anyone got an inside word or driven past the site recently?
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

You can't just drive by the site. It's not easily visible from the road (at last visit, but it may be visible once the tower & radome are up).

I will hopefully be in a position to grab another photo tomorrow afternoon.

Last discussion I had, all equipment except the radome was on hand and they were hopeful of having it online before the end of August.

I should know more tomorrow night.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by Weather Watcher »

It's still on track - images should be available towards the end of this month.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Well, 3 Tokoroa based Weather enthusiasts, 2 Environment BOP staff and myself were lucky enough to be given a guided tour of the installation today. It's still a couple of weeks off, they are still waiting for the power to be connected.

Lights on site were being provided by their standby engine alternator set.
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Certainly a lot of progress since my last visit. The 4.8m prime focus parabolic dish inside the radome is huge, much larger than you would expect.
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Re: Bay of Plenty Rain Radar

Unread post by TokWW »

Yes an enthralling visit and we felt very privileged to be shown inside the tower and the dome. The construction engineer was there describing everything - he had also installed the Mahia Peninsular one as well, and said they found quicker and safer ways to construct this one. It all came together last Friday as everything arrived by Thursday. Many thanks to MS staff for allowing us as a small private group the supervised visit and to Bob McDavitt for his assistance in making the connection. He wished he could have made it as well but was otherwise engaged!!

Thanks for the pics Neil, I can't find my camera cable!! :(

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