The Bureau of Meteorology’s controversial new-look website may be set for more changes as politicians demand action after a chorus of public complaints about its usability.

The $4.1 million site redesign was launched on October 22 – at the same time as large parts of the country were experiencing the beginning of a spate of extreme weather.

While the BOM promoted the redesign as “modern and sleek”, claiming it would make it easier for people to access daily weather information and warnings, users have complained the opposite is true. Residents in Queensland and Victoria have been especially vocal, saying they had no warning of the severity of major storms that hit both states last weekend.

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt met acting bureau boss Peter Stone on Tuesday, telling him the site was not meeting many users’ expectations.

“In the meeting, I made clear my expectations that the BOM needed to consider this feedback and, where appropriate, adjust the website’s settings as soon as possible,” Watt said.

“This includes urgent consideration of improvements to the website’s functionality and usability.

“The acting CEO confirmed that the BOM is considering this feedback and what adjustments can be made, while preserving the website’s reliability.”

Watt said the website was a “critical tool” to ensure public safety, particularly during the high-risk weather season.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen echoed the concerns, saying the bureau had lost community confidence in the new site.

Nationals leader David Littleproud wants a review of the revamped site, saying on Wednesday that residents in his rural Queensland electorate had struggled to find the information they needed after a recent “rain event”.

“Others have found the website difficult to navigate and note they cannot locate the radar function without extensive exploration of the site,” he said.

One specific issue Littleproud said users had highlighted was the removal of the option to enter GPS coordinates for specific properties, limiting searches to towns or postcodes.

“As a result, families, businesses and farmers are unable to access vital, localised data such as river heights and rainfall information,” he said.

Queensland farmer Paul White said the new website was “hopeless”.

“My main problem is that I have 6500 acres (2600 hectares) that go under flood waters and we have a gauging station that is 10 kilometres upstream from us,” he said.

“When we have heavy rain I monitor that 24/7 because I have livestock and machinery. But now, I don’t see any meter heights anymore.”

Want to see your local weather at a glance?

The most important thing you can do is set your location. Watch this video to see how to do it.

For more information & tips to help use the new website, visit https://t.co/TQH41pZjxm pic.twitter.com/SVlWXocWtV

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 28, 2025

The BOM’s Peter Stone apologised on Wednesday for “the challenges the change has caused”, acknowledging that the website received millions of daily visitors, many of whom relied on it to help them plan ahead.

“It’s clear we need to do more to help people through the change, both by making adjustments to the website and by helping users to understand its new features,” he said.

However, Stone added that the new site has been specifically designed to enhance access to public safety information, with forecasts and warnings now “more prominent, easily accessible and relevant to your location”.

“There has been significant feedback about the radar on the new website. It’s important to note that the website radar provides one view of the current weather situation.

“It is not intended to replicate or replace the bureau’s weather warnings which are created by our expert meteorologists and issued ahead of a severe weather event.”

Nonetheless, Stone said the BOM would act quickly on the feedback received, with new content, features and upgrades to be rolled out.

“I am confident the community will start to see more improvements in the coming weeks,” he said.

Many disgruntled users of the website have taken to social media to vent their annoyance, with #changeitback flooding the comments section on the BOM’s Facebook page.

Meteorologist Anthony Cornelius voiced his disapproval of the site in a lengthy post after saying he had received a flood of emails and messages from people caught unaware by Brisbane and Ipswich storms.

Cornelius said the new design meant users couldn’t find essential information when they needed it, and that the new radar on the site underestimated the intensity of the storms.

He added that it “beggars belief” the BOM would roll out such a significant change just as the main storm season was about to start.

“In the past 25 years working as a meteorologist, I’ve NEVER seen the BOM do an update or upgrade during a major severe weather event,” he said.

Watt said he had asked the BOM to organise a briefing with state and territory emergency services ministers this week, to ensure they were fully briefed on the new website and how the bureau planned to improve it.

He also strongly encouraged users to continue to provide feedback to the bureau.

“Australians deserve to have confidence in these important services. My office and I will continue to engage closely with the BOM and ensure public safety is its foremost priority,” he said.