Jamaica to Get New S-Band Doppler Weather Radar
By: , June 26, 2019The Key Point:
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, addresses the media at the contract signing for a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25). Seated at the head table are (from left): Deputy Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Ms. Claire Bernard; Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Mr. Evan Thompson; Director General, PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry; Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova and Vice President, Global Sales, Enterprise Electronics Corporation, Mr. Kurt Kleess.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz (seated, second right), signs a contract for a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar, at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25). Seated (from left) are: Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova; Director General, PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry, and Vice President, Global Sales, Enterprise Electronics Corporation, Mr. Kurt Kleess. Standing in the background (from left) are: Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Mr. Evan Thompson; Project Manager, Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP), Mr. Lehome Johnson, and the Project Assistant, Christena McCarty.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, speaks at the contract signing for a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25). Seated at the head table are (from left): Deputy Director General, PIOJ, Ms. Claire Bernard; Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Mr. Evan Thompson; Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, and Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova.The Facts
- Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, Director General, PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry, and Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova, signed the contract at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25).
- The radar is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate rain, hail, and others, and will significantly improve Jamaica’s ability to accurately forecast extreme weather events.
The Full Story
The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the World Bank have signed a contract for the design, supply and installation of a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar in Jamaica.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, Director General, PIOJ, Dr. Wayne Henry, and Country Manager, World Bank, Ms. Galina Sotirova, signed the contract at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 25).
The radar is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate rain, hail, and others, and will significantly improve Jamaica’s ability to accurately forecast extreme weather events.
It will be designed and installed by the Enterprise Electronics Corporation from the United States of America, which Cabinet recently granted approval with the award of a contract in the amount of US$2,449,203.
The project is being funded with the help of the World Bank, through accessing funds from the Climate Investment Fund.
Mr. Vaz noted that the signing of the contract is a significant activity for the Government at this time, as it is critically important to replace the almost obsolete and aged system which is currently being used by the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.
“Not only is it critically important that we replace the 20-year-old almost obsolete system that once stood tall as the first Doppler Radar to be installed in the English-speaking Caribbean, but it signals a resolve to meet the global challenges of weather and climate that face this and future generations head-on,” the Minister said.
“Unfortunately, the monitoring capabilities of the Meteorological Service are hampered by the increasing failures of our aged radar system, hence its replacement is now a priority,” he added.
The Minister also noted that the installation of this weather radar will greatly enhance Jamaica’s ability to achieve its 2030 milestones with its capacity to pinpoint the location and movement of rainfall cells anywhere over the country and as far away as the Cayman Islands, south-eastern Cuba and Western Haiti.
Implementation of the radar falls under the Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP), which has a development objective of improving the quality and use of climate related data for effective planning and action at all levels in Jamaica.
The ICDIMP is funded by the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR), through the World Bank.