The weather bureau has inaugurated the Iloilo Doppler Radar and Synoptic Station located in WESVIARC, Barangay Hamungaya, Jaro, Iloilo City.
Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario G. Montejo said Pagasa is bracing to further improve and upgrade its weather forecasting by covering the entire Visayas. “This will empower the people. It will keep them safe and well-informed.”
The Pagasa put up the Iloilo station in May 2015 to provide more accurate weather data for the Visayas.
Montejo also said this would ensure the safety of vulnerable communities from natural hazards like typhoons and floods.
“This Doppler Radar and Synoptic Station is the 13th of the targeted 15 Doppler radars by year end that will provide more accurate forecasting to enable our farmers, our communities to prepare ahead of time when there is a coming typhoon because this will give us detailed data to predict the amount of rainfall in particular areas at a particular given time,” explained the DoST chief.
The radar is capable of scanning and monitoring rain clouds as far as Masbate and Sorsogon area in the north and Surigao and Davao area plus the whole of Visayas.
This would enable “nowcasting” where an impending typhoon can be easily detected and tracked, allowing a lead time of three hours.
Montejo said the radar can provide data sets to manage crop planting so farmers would know weather conditions suitable for planting, applying fertilizer and harvesting.
The Doppler radar will likewise enhance the capability of Pagasa to mitigate the negative effect of El Niño by detecting rain clouds used for cloud seeding to induce rain.