David Gardiner

Journalist

Weatherzone founder Mark Hardy’s plans to set up a new, true local professional weather data station in Douglas have moved a step closer to realisation. 

Mr Hardy, these days retired from the company he started and who now spends several months of the year in Douglas, came up with the idea of personally funding a ‘true local’ weather station to provide more accurate data for observations and forecasting in the area. 

The official Bureau of Meteorology station is 15 kilometres offshore at Low Isles and local residents have often questioned its relevance.

The Low Isles station is an automated system more geared for boaties and the aviation industry, and often does not reflect the vastly different weather and rainfall occurring on the mainland.

Now, the Mirage Golf Course in Port Douglas has agreed to let Mr Hardy place his proposed station on its land, considered a central, well-positioned spot for such an important piece of weather forecasting infrastructure.

But Mr Hardy still has a few hurdles to overcome. He is continuing to negotiate with the BoM about if and when they will accept data from the proposed new station.

Also in the meantime, he told Newsport he is trying to get other popular weather apps besides Weatherzone to agree to use the data, to broaden its distribution into the “wide world.”