Doppler Weather Radar Inaugurated in St. John's

ST. JOHN'S, Nlfd., December 6, 2002 - Today, on behalf of the Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, John Efford, Member of Parliament for Bonavista-Trinity-Conception, presided over the opening ceremony for the newly-upgraded Doppler weather radar in Holyrood, approx. 30 km west of St. John's. Upgraded from conventional radar to state-of-the-art Doppler in October 2002, the Holyrood Weather Radar is the newest in the Atlantic region and the most easterly in the national Doppler radar network.

Doppler weather radar data is one important piece of the puzzle used in conjunction with a variety of other weather assessment and forecast tools to produce Environment Canada's public warnings like Special Weather Statements and Weather Warnings.

"The first priority of the Government of Canada is the health and safety of Canadians," said John Efford, MP. “The new Doppler radar capability at Holyrood is good news for people whose lives and livelihoods depend on timely and accurate weather information. This new system will help improve public safety by allowing forecasters to more quickly and precisely detect and predict severe weather events and then give the necessary warnings to the public."

The new Doppler radar means meteorologists can glean more information about the “heart” of a storm than could be gained via a conventional weather radar. For example, the Doppler radar provides never-before seen details on precipitation over eastern Newfoundland, and senses specific information on the internal structure of the storms. This information will be used to assess and forecast the potential development of severe weather in the region. This will result in a better understanding of the weather patterns and an improvement in the short range forecasting of winter storms, thunderstorms and tropical systems on and around the Avalon Peninsula and will ultimately improve the timeliness of warnings.

The upgrade of the Holyrood radar continues the development of a national network of 31 Doppler radars which Environment Canada is installing across the country under the seven-year, $34.9 million National Radar Project.

There are currently three other Doppler radars located in the Atlantic region at Marble Mountain, Newfoundland; Marion Bridge, Nova Scotia; and Gore, Hants County, Nova Scotia. Another one is planned for Chipman, New Brunswick, near Fredericton. This network of five radars will enhance the radar coverage of the four Atlantic provinces. In addition to these Doppler weather radars, meteorologists in the Atlantic region also have access to information from the Environment Canada radars in Quebec and Ontario as well as the United States' National Weather Service Doppler radars in Maine.

Environment Canada issues Severe Weather Warnings and Special Weather Statements to the public via the media, weather outlets, the Internet, automated telephone answering devices and Weatheradio Canada.

Photographs and more detailed information on the Doppler Radar System in the Atlantic Region may be found at: http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/weather/radar.

For further information, please contact:
Kelly Morgan Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment
(819) 997-1441

Stu Porter, Manager Newfoundland Weather Centre
Environment Canada
(709) 256-6611