AUSSIE RAGE OVER BOM WEBSITE: Why the Bureau of Meteorology’s $4.1 million redesign is being called an ‘epic fail.’ Farmers and politicians demand fixes after a ‘clunky’ new radar and missing data left users unprepared for severe storms.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is facing a storm of criticism in Australia after launching its first major website redesign in 12 years, a project reportedly costing $4.1 million.
The new site, which went live on October 22, has been widely branded an “epic fail” by users, with the controversy escalating after the rollout coincided with severe weather hitting Queensland and Victoria.
The backlash has been so intense that the Federal Environment Minister, Murray Watt, was forced to haul the BOM’s acting CEO, Dr. Peter Stone, in for talks, stating publicly that the new platform was “not meeting many users’ expectations“.
Key Flaws Spark Public Safety Concerns
While the BOM claims the refresh was intended to make the site “clean, simple,” and more mobile-responsive, users—especially those in regional areas, like farmers and emergency services—say critical functionality has been lost or made impossible to find.
The major points of contention revolve around the vital weather radar:
- Loss of Granular Detail: The ability to enter precise GPS coordinates for property-specific data, such as river heights and localised rainfall, has been removed, restricting searches to towns or postcodes.5 This is particularly crucial for farmers monitoring flood risks.
- Confusing Colour Scale: The new radar has switched the colour calibration from the familiar dBZ (radar reflectivity units) to mm/hour (rainfall rate). Critics argue this change has led users to underestimate the true severity of storms, with the colours no longer clearly indicating hail or dangerous intensity as the old scale did.
- Navigation and Lag: Users complain the site is difficult to navigate and that the new radar function often lags, creating potentially dangerous delays for people trying to prepare for fast-moving weather events.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli publicly attacked the timing of the launch, calling the update “flawed” and saying the changes affected the ability of residents to prepare for the wild weekend weather.
The Bureau Responds and Promises Change
The BOM initially defended the overhaul, stating the site was developed in consultation with the community and had received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback during a 15-month beta phase.
A spokesperson noted that a “dip in customer satisfaction is expected” following any major platform change.
However, the sustained public and political pressure forced an apology from acting CEO Dr Peter Stone.
“I sincerely apologise for the challenges the change has caused,” Dr. Stone said in a statement, while maintaining that forecasts and warnings remained available.
He confirmed the Bureau is “moving quickly to act on the feedback received” and that “adjustments” to the website’s functionality will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
For now, many Australians are navigating a mixed environment, with the old, reliable BOM website still partially accessible at a separate ‘legacy’ URL while the Bureau scrambles to fix the flaws in its expensive new platform.
