Minnie Downs Rain Radar - 100km

Geographical Situation The radar is located on the south side of the Warrego Highway about 110 km east of Charleville. The site is on the Great Dividing Range and is near the highest point on the highway between Roma and Charleville. The radar's horizon is only slightly affected by the rising ground of the foothills of the Chesteron Rage to the north and west. In all other directions the land is generally undulating plains gradually sloping down towards the south. The radar's coverage has minor reductions from the west, through north to the north-east due to the foothills of the Chesterton Range. The agricultural land from the west of Charleville to the east of Roma falls within the radar's coverage, as does the area around Carnarvon Gorge to the north and Bollon to the south. Meteorological Aspects The radar is well situated to monitor rain bearing weather systems that may affect the catchments and valleys of the Warrego and the Maranoa River basins. Thunderstorms, rain bearing depressions, troughs and fronts will be able to be tracked and the distribution of rainfall produced by these systems can be monitored to provide valuable information for flood and severe weather warnings. Non-meteorological aspects In most cases the processing of the radar signal removes permanent echoes caused by obstructions such as hills, buildings and other solid objects. Occasionally, some permanent echoes will not be completely removed from the display. These echoes usually occur as isolated, stationary patches along the Great Dividing Range and other prominent outcrops.These effects usually become more noticeable on cold, clear, winter nights or early winter mornings when cold air lies near the land's surface. <a