The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has completed its first major round of changes to its embattled and expensive new website.
The agency has been inundated with 400,000 items of feedback since the launch of the new site in October.
Last month, the BOM revealed it spent $96.5 million on the website, as part of a broader IT and security upgrades at the agency.
The latest suite of changes include further updates to the rain radar, as well as warnings and temperature information.
New features
This week's update is the first major refresh of the new site since its launch.
It was originally scheduled to be rolled out in late November, but the update was delayed due to Tropical Cyclone Fina.
BOM chief executive Stuart Minchin said some changes were planned but others were a direct response to concerns.
"We've heard a significant amount of feedback about the new rain radar and weather map," Dr Minchin said.
"We have added a quick link button from the home page, increased the visibility of the map location pin and made it easier to customise the map."
The BOM previously made improvements to the way the radar was displayed.
It also made detailed fire information available on the new site after concerns were raised by volunteer firefighters and people living in fire-prone areas.
The latest refresh also includes refinements to the way warnings are displayed.
The BOM said it would be easier for people to see at a glance if a location had an active or recently cancelled warning, with the use of yellow and grey colouring.
The new site also has more information about daily temperature highs and lows on state, territory and district pages.
70 million visits
The BOM website is the most frequently visited Australian government site, and receives an average of 2 million visits a day.
"Since launch, the website has had almost 70 million visits, and we have received more than 400,000 items of community feedback," Dr Minchin said.
He said that feedback had been taken on board.
"Website development and improvements are guided by user feedback, analysis, user research and business needs," he said.
"We have an expert and highly dedicated workforce committed to providing the best possible service to the Australian community every day."
The BOM is planning further updates to the site in the new year.
