Bethune radar offline until end of March

Regina – All too often, the Bethune radar station northwest of Regina breaks down.

These outages spark frustration year-round from residents, but it’s especially evident during storm season when radar is heavily relied upon.

Environment Canada says the Bethune radar is operational 97 per cent of the time, which is average and at times higher than other radar stations across the country.

But Tuesday, Environment Canada announced the Bethune radar would be undergoing maintenance.

This will cause the system to be offline for three weeks while they do antenna upgrades and other improvements.

For the most part, other radar stations will be able cover most regions while the Bethune station is down. The area most affected will be south of Regina, and that gap should be covered with the help of surface and satellite data.

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Back in January, the Canadian government announced a $134 million to help upgrade and improve weather coverage. However, Environment Canada meteorologist John Paul Cragg explains the money for this tune-up comes from funds provided for weather monitoring improvements back in 2011.

“This isn’t the upgrade,” Cragg said. “The upgrades will come in the future.”

They expect the equipment to back up and running March 27th.