In contrast the Thunderstorm Tracker is an automated product that detects and predicts an area of potential thunderstorm activity based simply on radar data.Ī Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued if the storms are expected to produce any of the following: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning contains a threat area as well as the location and forecast direction of the Severe Thunderstorm(s). They manually produce the Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Metro or District - consisting of an image and text. The Bureau of Meteorology's specialist severe weather meteorologists analyse radar data, computer model output and other data sources to determine the severity of thunderstorms. THE THUNDERSTORM TRACKER IS NOT A WARNING: it is an indicator of potential thunderstorm activity and is an automated image. What are the differences between Thunderstorm Tracker and the Severe Thunderstorm Warning? Frequently a cluster of thunderstorms viewed on the radar images will be represented by one oval on the Thunderstorm Tracker. The Thunderstorm Tracker is a representation of an area of thunderstorm activity, the radar images are displays of reflectivity of water droplets and ice crystals.

What are the differences between Thunderstorm Tracker and the radar images?

Occasionally one image may contain thunderstorms with very different tracked directions if they are in different stages of development and their motion hasn't been well established. Thunderstorms can move in different directions. Why do the tracked thunderstorms seem to move in different directions? It may also be due to a cluster of storms in the same area being represented by a single oval. This may be because storms may be in different stages of development. Thunderstorms will appear larger than others. Why do some thunderstorms look bigger than others? The area displayed in Thunderstorm Tracker represents the best radar coverage for South East Queensland. Thunderstorm Tracker is updated every 6 minutes with new radar data. How often is Thunderstorm Tracker updated? The arrows show the direction that the thunderstorms are heading and the three curves ahead of each oval show its expected position in 10, 20 and 30 minutes. It looks for areas of intense rainfall in the last two to three radar scans, identifies areas of potential thunderstorm activity and represents the area of activity as ovals. Thunderstorm Tracker is based on weather radar data.

Wunderweather map