Doppler weather radar to be
reinstalled in St. Maarten
PHILIPSBURG--A new Doppler weather radar is coming for St. Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles Meteorological Service reported Sunday.
Technicians began dismantling the old platform atop the St. Peters hill last week. Weather permitting, they expect to install the new piece of equipment for the island, the Met Office said. St. Maarten has been without functioning weather radar since hurricanes in the 1990s.
Equipment from the old radar has “undergone an expensive upgrade” by technicians of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute KNMI in close cooperation with the Met Office’s technical staff in recent years. “After this procedure, the equipment was shipped back to St. Maarten a couple of months ago and it is now ready to be installed again on the existing tower,” the Met Office said. The radar should be installed between November 11 and November 18.
The radar, which was first installed in 1987, can detect precipitation in the Dutch Windward Islands. “Subsequently, a pedestal and antenna will be placed on top of the new platform,” the Met Office said. “Between November 19 and 24, a new dome is scheduled to be placed on top of the radar.”
Several companies will be involved in the installation of key pieces of hardware and software to control the equipment, for the next few weeks. The dome will protect the radar antenna from weather elements and corrosion. “Between December 1 and 5, the radar equipment will be started and tested and, if everything is successful, the St. Maarten weather radar will become operational soon thereafter,” Met Office said.
