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The radar on the Bureau of Meteorology’s mobile phone app has crashed as storms threaten areas across south-east Queensland.
On Thursday afternoon, BoM’s app was showing a lag that stopped hours before the current time for some users, while others simply saw a spinning loading wheel.
“Please note the time shown with the map. Some information is not complete, but we’re working on it,” a message underneath the radar said.
The BoM radar displayed nothing on some phones. Credit: BOM
Some also reported issues accessing the weather radar on the new website, the target of much furore over the past week.
Meteorologist Anthony Cornelius said in a Facebook post that it appeared to be showing old images.
Severe thunderstorms warnings are active across the region in the Somerset, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay council areas.
The latest problems come in a difficult week for the weather bureau. Its long-planned website upgrade, which was launched on Wednesday last week, has been widely criticised.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli chastised the organisation in state parliament after storms lashed Brisbane over the weekend, leaving more than 100,000 temporarily without power.
His criticism focused on the bureau’s changed the colour scheme on their radar.
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“The changes to the federally run Bureau of Meteorology website are not good enough,” Crisafulli said on Tuesday morning.
“The changes to the website don’t make sense. The website is flawed. Easy access to individual radars have been removed.”
Treasurer David Janetzki also wrote to Environment Minister Murray Watt, whose portfolio includes the Bureau of Meteorology, describing the changes to colour-coding of rainfall intensity and removal of Caboolture as a locator on the map as “critical flaws”.
“The decision to make the site live on 22 October – just as Queensland and Australia enter storm season – can, at its best, be described as short-sighted, while at its worst, it has put the lives and safety of Queenslanders at risk,” he wrote.
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On Tuesday, Watt said the new website had not met users’ expectations. He said he had met with the bureau’s acting chief executive, Peter Stone, and urged the body to urgently improve the website’s functionality and usability.
The bureau has been contacted for comment.
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