The Bureau of Meteorology has defended its new $4 million website, after a flood of complaints about the refreshed look.

The new site went live on Wednesday last week , as wild weather hit various parts of Australia.

The response from the public was swift, harsh and widespread, with social media and radio talkback awash with criticism.

Five days later, the negative feedback has not abated.

Upgrade overdue

Bureau Meteorologist, Michael Logan defended the change, telling ABC Statewide Drive Victoria , the website needed updating.

"The old website served us really well, but it had been well over a decade since there has been any upgrades to it," he said.

" The underlying IT just wasn't as secure, as resilient and as reliable as it needed to be. "

Mr Logan said with an IT refresh

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