Australians are famously fond of talking about the weather. The topic serves as both a great unifier and obsession — particularly when a heatwave, cold snap or wild storm strikes.

Key points: Eight radars in the southern corner of WA will form the most advanced weather forecasting network in Australia

Eight radars in the southern corner of WA will form the most advanced weather forecasting network in Australia The upgrade is being rolled out by the Bureau of Meteorology

The upgrade is being rolled out by the Bureau of Meteorology In WA, Albany's upgrade will become active in the next fortnight with Geraldton and Esperance online by early 2020.

Even if you aren't a weather nerd, if you use your phone to check the forecast after a rumble of thunder or find yourself subject to endless talk about the sweltering weekend ahead on TV and radio, all of the information is drawn from Australia's extensive national network of over 60 weather radars.

Now, in the country's most isolated state, forecasting is about to enter a new era as the Bureau of Meteorology [BOM] brings the next generation of tools online.

"When you look at the coverage of radars across the south-west of WA we will have more radars in the south-west than other state's have in totality," the Bureau's WA spokesperson Neil Bennett said.

"We will have one of the most comprehensive networks of Doppler radar in the country."

How weather got on the radar

As far as technologies go, advanced weather forecasting is a relatively modern phenomenon.

Inside a Doppler radar ball is a rotating dish which sends out electromagnetic pulses. ( ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett )

Conventional radar, which stands for Radio Detecting And Ranging, sends out short radio pulses which are reflected back if there is an object in the path of the radio wave.

In World War II allied military radar operators noticed that enemy ships and planes weren't the only hostile forces they could detect — rain, snow and sleet were also bouncing signals back to base.

From there a meteorological renaissance began and networks of weather dedicated radars spread rapidly across the developed world.

"The Doppler [radar] takes us another step forward [in looking at] how the weather systems are behaving as they are moving into the area of the radar," Mr Bennett said.

In January, the WA State Government committed to $4.6 million towards upgrading Albany and Geraldton radars to Doppler capability. ( ABC News )

"Doppler measures the speed at which the raindrops are moving, either towards or away from the radar, and that gives us a very very good amount of information as to the intensity of thunderstorms and also the location of the major wind shift associated with where the location of the frontal systems is."

There are 24 of the of new generation weather radars across the country.

Western Australia's network started with three Dopplers in the state's sheep and grain belt, with Perth and Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields also recently upgraded.

Along its coastline, Albany's upgrade will become active in the next fortnight with Geraldton and Esperance online by early 2020.

When completed the eight radars in the southern corner of WA will form the most advanced weather forecasting network in Australia.

Bryce Sinclair relies on reliable weather data. ( ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett )

Farmers and emergency services to benefit

While those in the city will benefit with more reliable four-day predictions, for farmers and emergency services access to crucial weather information is a gamer changer.

For the past two years a new Doppler radar in the southern WA farming town of Newdegate has fed a steady stream of real-time weather data to the tablet in Bryce Sinclair's ute.

Bryce Sinclair checks real-time rain data from his ute. ( ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett )

"Basically whatever is happening in the sky where that radar is covering we can see it," Mr Sinclair said.

"You can find all about your wind, windspeeds, temperatures, humidity — everything like that.

"The rainfall one is just so pinpoint. I will know that that cloud missed our boundary by a kilometre. I can be that specific about it."

The real-time information is saving farmers time and money by taking the guess work out of when the rain is going to come and when to plant next season's crop.

Real-time weather data allows farmers to make better decisions about when to start planting crops. ( ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett )

"I'm putting a lot of money into the ground," Mr Sinclair said.

"It gives us an idea of what's happening on our far away farms that are up to 70 kilometres away.

"I can sit there and make a decision now that I'm not going to do a 140-kilometre round trip to find out that I can't do what I want to do down there.

"Margins are tight so any percentage that you can earn above that line is bloomin' handy."

The technology, which detects the intensity of rainfall within a 150-kilometre radius, can also help those on the land prepare for severe weather events.

In the recent floods in North West Queensland, hundreds of thousands of drought stressed cattle perished, with many graziers unable to get proper flood advice or warnings to move livestock to higher ground before the severe weather hit.

The Bureau's WA spokesman Neil Bennett says the Doppler radars provide forecasters with more accurate metrics. ( ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett )

Soon after the Federal Government announced $28 million for four new BOM radars.

"[It's a] very good tool for fire fighting and emergency services [because it] gives an instantaneous view and state of the atmosphere at a particular time," Mr Bennett said.

Although the BOM is a federal entity, the WA State Government committed $23 million to speed up the upgrade of its own network.

"I guess there was a view in Western Australia that we weren't getting the sort of investment that was really needed for our farming community so the state has stepped up," State Agricultural Minister Alannah MacTiernan said.

"We're very export focused so our farmers really do need to be able to be very cost effective and having access to Doppler radar really does rein-in costs."