The Cayman Islands National Weather Service said its Doppler radar should be operational within the next six weeks now that a key replacement part has been secured.
The Kearney Gomez Doppler Radar, which is located in High Rock, East End, is used to detect and track precipitation. Cayman’s radar went offline on 21 Oct. last year, and has been out of service since.
In a statement released by the NWS, a spokesperson said the initial diagnosis of the problem was delayed by a month due to COVID-19.
”Once CINWS was able to confirm the problem, the pandemic continued to hamper efforts to locate a replacement part,” read the statement, which added that the part was purchased from the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation in January.
NWS Director General John Tibbetts said the part is expected to arrive in Cayman within the next four-to-six weeks, and the Doppler radar should be back in service well in advance of the start of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins on 1 June.
“Particularly during hurricane season, the weather radar is an important asset in our meteorological toolkit but it’s just one of the many services we provide and tools we use,” said Tibbetts. “I’m proud of the hard work our team has continued to deliver and hope the improvements we have made to our website are helping make our forecasts and advisories more accessible to the public.”
The October 2021 incident was not the first time the Doppler radar went offline. In August last year, a suspected lightning strike took down the radar for almost two weeks due to a damaged generator.
In the statement, Premier Wayne Panton, who is also the minister responsible for sustainability and climate resiliency, commended the National Weather Service for ongoing efforts to provide Cayman with timely weather forecasts, despite not having the Doppler radar operational.
“Whether you check the forecast before you head out to work, or before you head out on the water, or to make sure the sun will be shining when you take your children to the park, on any given day we all rely on the information provided by the National Weather Service to plan ahead and stay safe, and of course that is more so during hurricane season,” Panton said.
“Our dedicated team of local meteorologists have continued to deliver accurate, timely forecasts, advisories and warnings for the country.”
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Since this key replacement part has us down for a total of about 4 months, did we order a spare as well?