Bureau of Meteorology: BOM backtracks on new website after savage feedback with ‘more changes in pipeline’
The Bureau of Meteorology has backflipped and will revert back to the rain view on its website before the online update that left many fuming.
The revamped website went live last Wednesday and, according to BOM, featured “design and functionality improvements to most frequently used pages including forecasts, observations and weather warnings.”
However, the backlash was fierce, in South Australia a popular community weather page described the new BOM site as a “sh*t show.”
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Environment Minister Murray Watt has hauled the Bureau of Meteorology in for a “please explain” over its controversial update.
Queensland Treasurer David Janetzi highlighted the “critical flaws” of the how the weather data was displayed during a recent storm, meaning users were unable to understand how to interpret the information.
“Caboolture, a growing area of the south-east corner, has disappeared as a locator on the BOM map while the ... associated colour coding of the storms that Queenslanders rely on through thick and thin has significantly changed for the worse,” he said.
BOM issued a statement on Friday (October 31) outlining that it had changed back to the default rain view in the new radar and weather map. It means colours appear as they did in previously.
Acting chief executive Peter Stone said the change was part of the bureau’s commitment to responding to community feedback.
“We’ve listened to your feedback and have restored the previous radar colour scheme,” he said.
It also highlighted that ongoing changes and improvements will be coming via a planned schedule of regular releases.
“More changes are in the pipeline,” Mr Stone said.
What the statement means in reality is that the weather map on the website will display rain reflectivity (dBZ) as the standard , returning to a visual style many users said they found intuitive and reliable for interpreting weather conditions.
Users will be able to choose whether they see their rain display as rain reflectivity (dBZ) or alternatively in millimetres per hour (mm/h), the latter how rain data is displayed on the BOM weather app.
