Life in the Bush has never been more interesting. Not only is the average property owner or manager required to have some skills in accounting, animal welfare, environmental science, building, welding, carpentry, cooking, fencing, plumbing, electricity, animal husbandry, banking, management, emergency management, the law, motor mechanics (small and large) human resources (and relationships) staff management, workplace health and safety, butchering, teaching, leatherwork, tyre repair, vet science, surveying, engineering, water distribution, weed control, property planning, pasture management, cropping, marketing, finance and flooding to name a few, we are now about to become the Weatherman (person).
The withdrawal of staff by the Bureau of Meteorology from five regional centres across Queensland now presents an interesting challenge in interpreting something which has historically been seen to be one of the most variable factors on the planet. While cost cutting is becoming an almost accepted norm, and remote monitoring is as common as having a nose on your face, it is the speedy local interpretation of all the data which will create the blackest hole when staff leave, more especially during extreme weather events.
As the automatic weather balloon goes up, so does the curtain fall on a regional service of importance to those who live and operate in remote areas. While all the data remains accessible, barometric pressure, wind speeds, satellite images, rain radars, flood gauges, river levels and the like which has us all spoilt over the years, the removal of the Weatherman (person) and their ability to interpret and translate the data into information about what actually might or might not happen will be sorely missed as will that human connection to any particular region.
If we really need to know about incoming weather and when, it means we will now spend more time working through all the available assumptions, models and data for our own region, and get a statewide weather update from BOM and the ABC. We will fall under the broad sweep of the weather guy’s hand as he brushes it quickly across hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of Queensland.
As listening to the radio is one of the last multi tasking things we are legally allowed to do while driving a motor vehicle, it seems the calm and knowledgeable local weather voice will be no more. So, fellow weatherpeople, it seems we get to pore through yet more data, and become even more skilled. But then, there are always the Budgerigars to watch. Do the green ones flying south bring rain or the blue ones flying east? Is it three days north wind or two days of a south easterly? Which leg does the male Emu stand on before a storm and how low is the Crocodile’s nest before the river doesn’t run. Maybe we should just ask Siri. If you have coverage, velcro on your smart phone. It’s about to become your next best friend. – Paul Woodhouse
