Radar

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder radar has good coverage in all directions, due mainly to the flat topography of the area. The local Goldmine Dumps (5 Km in the NE quadrant) do not affect the radar signal. During the Summer months severe thunderstorms can sometimes be seen to the maximum range of 250 kilometres, even though smaller showers cannot be seen at this range. In the Winter months, general rain areas can be detected, these can cover a great area and generally move from the northwest. Winter Thunderstorms can also be detected, although these generally don't achieve the intensity of Summer thunderstorms. As a general rule the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Weather Watch radar has a coverage of Leonora to the North, Norseman to the South, Southern Cross to the West and Zanthus to the East. 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.