Shannon radar down again.

Comhrá

The Shannon radar seems to be having it's annual vacation again.

It's down now for 24 hrs+ and has been having intermittent outages over the past few weeks.

Stanford

How can the Airport operate without radar?

Rougies

Stanford wrote: »

How can the Airport operate without radar?

The weather radar is down, they still have aircraft radar.

Stanford

OK thanks for clarification

ninebeanrows

Still down. Thunderstorms possible tomorrow in area covered.

For a 1st world nation its pathetic to have 1 functioning radar for a country our size

Discodog

At least they could put a message up by now

Comhrá

ME uses the radar display for the entire country for their home page.

https://www.met.ie/

Leaving it up with so much coverage missing without even a word of acknowledgement or explanation shows a very careless and unprofessional approach to their website effort.

Oneiric 3

Sleety_Rain wrote: »

For a 1st world nation its pathetic to have 1 functioning radar for a country our size

To be frank, the Shannon radar is barely of any more use when it is up that when it is down. But my guess, because this is Ireland after all, is that there is vested interests at play here and no doubt a primary reason why we are stuck with such an atrocious radar system.

irishgrover

can you give us a hypothetical hint as to what the vested interests might potentially be?

Oneiric 3

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

To be frank, the Shannon radar is barely of any more use when it is up that when it is down. But my guess, because this is Ireland after all, is that there is vested interests at play here and no doubt a primary reason why we are stuck with such an atrocious radar system.

Those living in the southwest might want an idea of where precipitation is falling. Instead of blind guesswork, which is the case right now. Farmers for example, whose livelihoods depend on the weather, deserve better.

Oneiric 3

Deleted User wrote: »

Those living in the southwest might want an idea of where precipitation is falling. Instead of blind guesswork, which is the case right now. Farmers for example, whose livelihoods depend on the weather, deserve better.

What about those of us living in the west, and particularly S. Connacht that have to 'guess' even when the radar is up? We seem to be stuck in a constant shadow caused by the Clare hills. I have seen rain pouring here when the radar showed nothing, and vice versa. Shannon Radar is pulp, full stop.

Harry Palmr

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

To be frank, the Shannon radar is barely of any more use when it is up that when it is down. But my guess, because this is Ireland after all, is that there is vested interests at play here and no doubt a primary reason why we are stuck with such an atrocious radar system.

irishgrover wrote: »

can you give us a hypothetical hint as to what the vested interests might potentially be?

It's the conspiracy by Dublin to keep the west poor obviously.

Discodog

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

What about those of us living in the west, and particularly S. Connacht that have to 'guess' even when the radar is up? We seem to be stuck in a constant shadow caused by the Clare hills. I have seen rain pouring here when the radar showed nothing, and vice versa. Shannon Radar is pulp, full stop.

I find it pretty good & I use & rely on it far more than most would. The Dark Skies App & Arcus read the radar & are rarely wrong on the short term.

pauldry

Look at Sat 24 satellite. White is shht n black is good.

Alternatively a window facing the direction the clouds are coming from.

Discodog

Shannon must be useful to UK Met.

ecowise

Shannon rainfall radar is still not showing on ME page. It is extraordinary that such a major part of their weather apparatus can be out of action (and for such a long time) and they don't feel any need to inform the public about it.

Discodog

I would of thought that the EU would help with installing a state of the art radar. It has to be of benefit to the UK & countries like France.

ecowise

I agree that Shannon radar (and another one in the north west would be useful) is of interest to other European countries. It might even be that they are already contributing financially.

Portsalon

ecowise wrote: »

Shannon rainfall radar is still not showing on ME page. It is extraordinary that such a major part of their weather apparatus can be out of action (and for such a long time) and they don't feel any need to inform the public about it.

Ministerial Responsibility for Met Eireann lies with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, i.e. Eoghan "the failure" Murphy.

Given his effectiveness with other areas of his portfolio, I'm rather surprised that the Dublin Airport rainfall radar is still working!

Oneiric 3

Discodog wrote: »

It has to be of benefit to the UK & countries like France.

Why? are you expecting a post-Brexit war to break out?:eek:

Comhrá

ME has finally gotten round to telling us the Shannon radar is down.

From their Facebook page:

Met Eireann
42 mins ·

The Met reann rainfall radar at Shannon Airport is currently not operational due to a technical issue. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. It is under service and due to resume operation this week.

ronnie3585

Really, really missed it today. Didn’t realise how much I rely on it.

dexter647

Comhra wrote: »

ME has finally gotten round to telling us the Shannon radar is down.

From their Facebook page:

It's been giving trouble for years so at this stage I'd stop repairing the bloody thing and just replace it!!

pauldry

Why did Met Eireann tell us their radar was down nearly a week late?

Did they hope that over 250,000 people who look at the weather on their phones wouldnt notice.

ecowise

Sadly, by being insulated from their users they are institutionally complacent.

sumtings

ecowise wrote: »

Sadly, by being insulated from their users they are institutionally complacent.

This is true.

The radar is so important in Ireland, it could be a much better product than it currently is for mass usage. It's not just a case of meeting basic needs, there should also be some thought leadership in the products provided rather than a tick the box. The outdoors as a resource both for entertainment and for work is enhanced by a good radar product.

Discodog

sumtings wrote: »

This is true.

The radar is so important in Ireland, it could be a much better product than it currently is for mass usage. It's not just a case of meeting basic needs, there should also be some thought leadership in the products provided rather than a tick the box. The outdoors as a resource both for entertainment and for work is enhanced by a good radar product.

Plus popular apps like Dark Skies & Arcus rely on the radar.

ecowise

In response to an email ME have said that a major malfunction occurred when the magnetron was inserted in a sub-unit of the radar system. They are awaiting a response from the German manufacturer, Leonardo. The time to repair is indefinite but should be this week.

Portsalon

ecowise wrote: »

Sadly, by being insulated from their users they are institutionally complacent.

They have two categories of customers:

us (the great unwashed, who don't pay them directly for their services)

and

them (commercial entities who pay for their services).

Understandably, ME gives "them" a better level of service than it gives "us"

What I fail to understand is why an Organisation which has regular daily access to the national media (TV and Radio) cannot be bothered to inform its listeners that an important part of its infrastructure will be out of action for a few days. It really is very poor customer service. ME's Director, Eoin Moran, really needs to pull up his boxers on this one!

Zzippy

You'd really miss it. Accuracy from Dublin really drops off at longer range. Torrential rain in Galway ATM but not a thing showing on radar. Shannon really handy for things like timing a walk with the kids etc, knowing you have a window before rain arrives.

Discodog

Zzippy wrote: »

You'd really miss it. Accuracy from Dublin really drops off at longer range. Torrential rain in Galway ATM but not a thing showing on radar. Shannon really handy for things like timing a walk with the kids etc, knowing you have a window before rain arrives.

If you play the animation you can see the point where Dublin picked up that shower - one image literally shows half a shower.

Jpmarn

There must be a big fault on the Shannon radar. It is offline for at least 5 days now. I suppose the bank holiday weekend in the middle of summer didn’t help as so many people like to be off.

pauldry

At least Sligo is on the coast.

Today there was less than 1mm in Sligo but heavy thunderstorms nearby in Ballymote that were barely visible on radar but showed on satellite

Kutebride

..........and still not working ;(

JCX BXC

Tweet issued again today, as well an an update, or more lack of one! "No further updates – 8th August"

Kermit.de.frog

Pain in the neck not having this available.

JCX BXC

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Pain in the neck not having this available.

Very much so.

Went camping during the week, very much missed the rainfall radar when trying to figure out when we had time between showers!

Storm 10

My other half wanted to go for a walk yesterday so she asked the Son was there any rain coming, he checked not knowing the radar was down and said no rain, she headed out and fifteen minutes later she was absolutely soaked not impressed.

Joe Public

They mentioned on the RTE weather forecast yesterday evening that Shannon radar was waiting for a part. Going back through the years when it was out of service for extended periods this was always the story. What makes Shannon radar so unique that it's very prone to faults and often not an easy fix?

weisses

Its a pathetic ... third world meteorological infrastructure in a first world country

Comhrá

A page from Boards weather forum from ten years back.

Sadly little has changed since then. Nothing to suggest anything will change going forward either.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//showthread.php?t=2055754470&page=4

mickger844posts

Latest Update on their website

Friday 9th August: A major repair is being carried out as a matter of top priority by Met Éireann especially given the current unsettled Atlantic weather pattern. The progress will be updated here on Monday.

Comhrá

from 2012:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056821074&page=2

Quote:
Met Eireann apologises for the continued interruption of service from the Shannon Radar. During routine maintenance, a faulty drive motor and gearbox were diagnosed. Met Eireann technicians have been working on the faults all week; the drive motor has been replaced, but the delivery of a new gearbox from suppliers has been delayed and is expected by Monday 10th. The installation of the new gearbox and other tasks necessary to bring the Radar back into service are likely to take a few days thereafter.

Portsalon

mickger844posts wrote: »

Latest Update on their website

Friday 9th August: A major repair is being carried out as a matter of top priority by Met Éireann especially given the current unsettled Atlantic weather pattern. The progress will be updated here on Monday.

Which, to me, suggests that it won't be fixed before Monday at the earliest. :mad:

Popoutman

It'd be nice to have a weather radar in Belmullet and somewhere in west Kerry, to give better coverage of the incoming weather from the West..

Joe Public

If the problem was discovered during "routine maintenance" does that mean it was fine until they touched it? now it's a big overtime claim

Jpmarn

An Joanne said on TV that with Shannon down the country has lost half its rainfall radar coverage.

JCX BXC

Popoutman wrote: »

It'd be nice to have a weather radar in Belmullet and somewhere in west Kerry, to give better coverage of the incoming weather from the West..

West Kerry would just overlap with the Shannon one. A waste of money.

Perhaps Belmullet or somewhere in Donegal.

Bsal

Looking at netweather's radar it looks like they are not using data from the Dublin airport radar, you can see the range ring ends just before Shannon airport which suggests they are only using Belfast radar, but if you go to met.ie website you can see the range ring from the Dublin airport radar extending as far as Cork.

REBELSAFC

Popoutman wrote: »

It'd be nice to have a weather radar in Belmullet and somewhere in west Kerry, to give better coverage of the incoming weather from the West..

Here in West Cork the Met Radar really doesn't cover us at all.The showers are on top of us before they show on the radar. A radar at Sherkin or Valentia would offer much better coverage for the South West of the country.

ecowise

I suspect part of the problem with the ME service is that they have a monopoly in Ireland. It is interesting to see how the UK Met Office have upped their game on Youtube since they lost the BBC contract:

https://youtu.be/qPbNN-hW69o