(CNS): The Kearney Gomez Doppler Radar is temporarily unavailable following a hardware failure, government officials have announced. The Cayman Islands National Weather Service (CINWS) said its technical team is working closely with the radar manufacturer to isolate the fault and determine a timeline for repairs. CINWS Director General John Tibbetts said in a press release that every effort was being made to find out what is wrong and how long it will take to fix.

“Our team is working diligently in collaboration with the radar manufacturer to identify the equipment responsible for the issue,” he said. “Once we have determined the cause of the issue, we will make every effort to get the radar back up and running. Although we don’t have a timeline for restoring radar service as yet, we are not expecting a long delay.”

The weather radar is an important asset in the CINWS meteorological toolkit but it is complemented by other services and tools. “The radar helps us monitor meteorological conditions as far as Jamaica, and is helpful for providing small-scale predictions,” Tibbetts explained. “For tracking storms further afield, we use the Cayman Islands Government’s GOES-R satellite system.”

Last year, a representative of the radar manufacturer travelled to Grand Cayman to complete a number of essential repairs to the radar equipment and the dome. Troy Jacob, the acting chief officer in the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, which has responsibility for the weather service, said the radar was in good working order following that visit.

“Following the repairs completed by the manufacturer last year, the radar was performing as it should for quite some time,” Jacob said. “Unfortunately, it is not always possible to proactively identify hardware issues. We understand the affinity and reliance that the public has for the radar, and that there would be frustration in the community when the radar is unavailable.”

Jacob reassured the public that weather service was doing all it could to restore the radar to full service and would continue to deliver accurate, timely forecasts, advisories and warnings for the country by using the other weather forecasting assets available.

“We intend to keep the country informed of our progress with the radar repairs, and hope to have another update shortly,” he added.