Radar

Perth (Serpentine) Weather Watch radar has good coverage in all directions. Intense thunderstorm or cold fronts can be seen up to 250 kilometres away, however at this distance the radar is sensing the structure of the system well above the ground and may give a misleading view of the actual surface rainfall intensity of the system. The radar is susceptible to anomalous propagation (AP) for distances up to 60 kilometres along the coastline and seaward of it. The AP appears as an area of low intensity echoes. A local phenomenon which has been observed occasionally is that of false mirror echoes approaching the radar from the southeast as an intense cold front approaches from the south west. 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.