Statement On The Matter Of The Operation Of The Doppler Radar

The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season commenced on June 1 and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation was aiming to bring the newly acquired radar into full operation in time for the season.

There are, however, some recent developments with the equipment that meant that the commissioning would not have been possible for this season and so the Ministry wishes to update Jamaica on the situation.

Jamaicans should, however, be assured that the absence of a radar does not impair the ability to conduct forecasts for the island and would not affect our capacity to monitor tropical
cyclone activity in the Caribbean or wider Atlantic region during the Hurricane Season.

The Meteorological Service will continue to provide its full suite of services in collaboration with our international partners. The opportunity is, however, being taken to clarify the matter of the status of the replacement of the obsolete radar system.

Under the Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project being implemented by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), funds were provided through a wider World Bank-aided programme to replace the obsolete radar system installed in 1999. Starting in December 2020, progress was made with the:
o Installation of the radar tower in Cooper’s Hill, St Andrew
o Assembly and installation of the radar antenna and radome (protective dome)
o Installation of processing equipment at the Radar Station
o Installation of a Solar Photovoltaic System to power the radar
o Completion of factory acceptance test
o Completion of operational test phase

On March 9, 2022, a mechanical defect involving the antenna assembly was detected by technical experts at the Radar Station. The manufacturers in the United States were immediately notified and subsequently made arrangements to do a physical assessment, which was carried out in Jamaica on March 16, 2022.

A Situation Report and the necessary Corrective Action Plan have been made available indicating that the problem will be corrected within the next six months. This will include the replacement of the defective antenna. All costs associated with the correction of the defect are being covered under the existing 3-year warranty and there is no financial cost to Jamaica.

This will, unfortunately, further delay the plans for commissioning the radar, which is expected to enhance the Meteorological Service’s ability to monitor rainfall activity over and within proximity to Jamaica for the purpose of reporting on existing occurrences and making short-term forecasts of within a few hours of detection.

It should also be noted that this was a manufacturer’s defect and could not have been prevented by the Meteorological Service