Phuket weather radar out of service

PHUKET: The weather radar at Phuket Airport has been out of service for almost a week, but a technician at Phuket Airport says it should be operational again in a few days.

According to the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) website, the Phuket weather radar has been out of operation since midday last Friday.

Narongsak Gumroob, a radar technician at the TMD’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) at the airport, blamed the problem on a technical glitch that is now being addressed.

“The weather radar usually updates automatically every 15 minutes, but there is problem at the moment and we are working to fix it. The system will be back to normal in a couple of days,” he said.

“The easiest solution for those who need live weather updates is to go to our website, but choose the weather radar in Krabi province instead. Since Krabi is so close, the information from their radar should be just as accurate,” he added.

“If there is any question regarding the weather, or to get the most accurate and most up-to-date information from us, please call 076-327340,” he added.

Meanwhile, the TMD’s 24-hour forecast for Phuket for the period starting at noon today is favorable.

It calls for widely-scattered thundershowers over 20% of the province, mainly in the afternoon and night. Winds will remain easterly at 15kmh to 35kmh. Wave heights will be one to two meters, higher in thunderstorm areas.

The 7-day forecast is similar, with widely scattered to scattered showers throughout the period and variable winds of 15kmh to 30 kmh.

— Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai