By: Hannah Reid    From Cayman Islands Government

A part needed to restore service to the Kearney Gomez Doppler Radar is on its way from the radar manufacturer in Germany, and is expected to arrive on island later this month.

Radar service went down in March 2023 following a hardware failure. Since that time, the Cayman Islands National Weather Service (CINWS) has been working closely with the radar manufacturer to isolate the fault and determine a timeline for repairs.

CINWS Director General John Tibbetts says the part is expected to arrive on island later this month.

“We are looking forward to installing the new part once it arrives, and restoring weather radar service as soon as possible,” he said. “Although the Weather Service has access to other services and tools that enable our team to provide accurate forecasts, we know the radar service is important to many people in our community and we will continue to make every effort to get it back up and running again.”

The weather radar helps the National Weather Service monitor meteorological conditions as far as Jamaica, and is helpful for providing small-scale predictions. For tracking storms further afield, the team uses the Cayman Islands Government’s GOES-R satellite system.

For more updates, the public is encouraged to visit https://weather.gov.ky/ or contact the Weather Service at [email protected].