Shark Bay Rain Radar

On the 26th of June 2009 the Bureau installed a new C-Band radar at Carnarvon, replacing the existing WF100 radar. The Carnarvon radar has an unrestricted 360 degree view with no permanent echoes. Some anomalous propagation may occur, usually manifested as false echoes along the Shark Bay coastline and extending north to include the islands off Carnarvon. This phenomenon usually occurs due to an inversion layer or when strong winds whip up spray from large swells just offshore. During the summer months cyclonic formations may occasionally be observed out to sea but it is more common to observe cyclones that have crossed the coast in the north Gascoyne or Pilbara regions, weaken into rain bearing depressions as they pass through the Gascoyne region tracking south-east. Heavy rain directly over the radar site can cause attenuation of all signals. Path attenuation can also occur when the radar beam passes through intense rainfall, with the returned signals from cells further along that path reduced. <a