New weather radar shield for TT

A NEW weather radar system to be built in Trinidad’s Central Range will give Trinidad and Tobago 400 km of radar coverage against approaching tropical storms and hurricanes. The new radar system will be one of four to be installed in the Caribbean as part of a $13.3 million Euro Regional Project. In a statement yesterday, the Public Utilities and Environment Ministry said the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to construct the radars was signed on April 1 between TT, Cariforum and the European Commission (EC) on April 1.

“The new Doppler weather radars are to be installed in Barbados, Belize, Guyana and TT. The information from these radars will overlap and be combined with information from existing radars in French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica to create an almost continuous composite of the Caribbean radar information,” the Ministry said. Under an agreement signed last December in Guyana between the EC and Cariforum, the latter will have overall responsibility for the project while the Trinidad-based Caribbean Meteorological Organisa-tion (CMO) will be the executing agency.

CMO coordinating director Tyrone Sutherland said: “The new radars will have capabilities way beyond the old systems and will enable weather forecasters to provide real-time details of weather systems that will lead to more accurate and timely information of severe weather. Importantly, the radar network will improve the warnings on approaching tropical storms and hurricanes.” The new radar will be constructed at Brasso Venado in the Central Range “and will provide complete coverage of both islands out to a distance of 400 km.”

Public Utilities and Environment Minister Pennelope Beckles said: “Data from these four new radars along with the others in the network will be made available by the National Meteorological Services to the public, media, national disaster preparedness and emergency services and other users in TT throughout the Caribbean via the Internet.”