SA Bureau of Meterology

A visit to the Bureau of Metereology's Adelaide office at Kent Town reveals there's an enormous array of scientific apparatus and observations required to provide the raw data for our weather forecasters. At one of the four metropolitan weather stations, weather balloons are released four times each day. They're vital for monitoring what's happening off the ground. As one meteorologist put it, "we live at the bottom of a restless ocean of air".

Back in the forecast centre at Kent Town, today's meteorologists work in the age of satellites and super computers. Japanese geostationary meteorological satellites have been feeding them information for two decades now. The Bureau of Meteorology welcomes school and adult group visits. You'll see amazing home videos of the wild weather over the state, including hailstones bigger than tennis balls from 1991, a tornado over Tarlee in 1995, and a waterspout off the suburban coast at Hallet Cove in March, 1998. In the forecast centre, you'll get a sense of the giant jigsaw puzzle confronting our meteorologists every three hours. And the picture is always moving!

For more information you can phone 8366 2600 or email: info@postcards-sa.com.au