Met Éireann launches new advanced weather radar system at Shannon Airport

MET ÉIREANN have completed the installation of a new weather radar at Shannon Airport.

The national meteorological service announced this Friday morning that its new weather radar system at Shannon Airport is now operational and will provide more accurate rainfall information to the weather forecasters and the rainfall radar maps on met.ie and the Met Éireann app. 

The new weather radar system, with upgraded technology and capabilities, is the first step of a planned futureproofing process to strategically develop and expand the capability of the overall national weather radar network maintained by Met Éireann, over this and the next decade. 

During this period, the number of radars will triple, from two to six, covering key areas across the country to ensure optimal coverage and forecasting accuracy. 

As part of the national weather radar network, which currently consists of two weather radars, one located at Shannon Airport and the other at Dublin Airport, the new radar system in Shannon will provide enhanced precipitation measurement capabilities. 

Weather reports for county Clare have been supplied by a temporary weather radar system in Cork, since work on replacing and upgrading the system at Shannon Airport started in May.

At the October meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Shane Talty said that a difficult summer for Clare farmers had been compounded by unexpected weather conditions that had not been forecast on the radar maps provided by Cork.

"There were very narrow windows over the summer for farmers and contractors to get work done, and that weather difficulty was compounded this summer by the unreliability of the forecasts, they were given a guess as to what might happen here in the Mid-West," he said.

Cllr Talty's remarks were in support of a motion put forward by Cllr Mary Howard that the council ask Met Eireann for an update as to the status of the installation of the new radar system in Shannon.

The new weather radar system in Shannon uses the latest dual-polarisation technology which will enable meteorologists to better distinguish between different types of precipitation such as rain, hail or snow.

This technology also enables better identification and removal of non-meteorological targets such as birds and insects from the data.

As a result, Met Éireann will be able to issue more precise and timely weather forecasts and warnings for significant weather events, for the benefit of the public, emergency services and the aviation, maritime, farming and other sectors.   

"The weather radar at Shannon Airport is vitally important as most of Ireland’s weather comes from the Atlantic, so Shannon is a fantastic location for the first detection and analysis of these rainfall events, said Dr. Sarah Gallagher, Head of the Observations Division at Met Éireann.

"This radar will increase the accuracy of our forecasts and of the rainfall radar service for the benefit of all. Our team is already analysing the radar’s new data with a view to further enhancing our service with new features next year."

"This is the first step of a longer-term scientific project to expand the national weather radar network beyond Shannon and Dublin and we’re excited to continue innovating and investing in science as part of our commitment to public safety and wellbeing. We’re already researching sites for four additional radars to optimise rainfall detection and coverage capabilities across the country," she continued.