Marine Weather Forecasting in the National Weather Service (NWS)

MarinersMariners WEATHER LOGWEATHER LOG Volume 58, Number 3 December 2014 From the Editor Welcome to the December issue of the Mariners Weather Log! Here we are, nearing the end of another year. It seems like this year just flew by. Happy Holidays to all in the coming season and lets ring in the New Year with kindness and warm wishes for all. This past August, a long overdue workshop/conference for the Port Mariners Weather Log Meteorological Officers was held on-site at the NASA Stennis Space ISSN 0025-3367 Center Mississippi. I think the consensus was overwhelming that it was a huge success. We covered a lot of issues and got to discuss our U.S. Department of Commerce various needs with the Deputy Director of NOAA’s National Weather Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan Service, Laura Furgione. Laura’s visit to our workshop was in itself Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Acting NOAA Administrator validating that our VOS program and our PMO’s are held high in Acting Administrator regard at the Headquarters level; her report showed that VOS was ranked in the top 50% among all NOAA observing systems! John National Weather Service Dr. Louis Uccellini Murphy, director of the National Weather Service Office of Science NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and Technology, reiterated this fact plus more. It was a productive Editorial Supervisor busy three days! You can find the rest of the story and some great Paula M. Rychtar photos on page 28. Photography, Layout, and Design We have several great articles to offer you this issue. One that I Stuart Hayes would like to mention is a collaborative effort; our colleagues from NTSC Technical Publications Office National Weather Service Headquarters in Silver Spring Maryland ARTICLES, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND LETTERS SHOULD BE SENT and a Senior Forecaster in the National Weather Service Forecast TO: Office in Eureka, California. When I initially received this article, I Ms. Paula M. Rychtar, Editorial Supervisor took notice of how lengthy it was; after reading this article, there was Mariners Weather Log NDBC (W/OPS 51) nothing I would want to cut out to shorten it. This is one of those Bldg. 3203 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000 great articles that give you the much needed background on how Phone: (228) 688-1457 Fax: (228) 688-3923 much effort goes into the production of marine weather forecasting. E-Mail: paula.rychtar@noaa.gov This article also gives great insight on the history of marine weather SOME IMPORTANT WEB PAGE ADDRESSES forecasting and slowly brings you up to the current practices as well NOAA http://www.noaa.gov as offering insight on the up and coming new technologies. I found it so very interesting and detailed, I know you will too. We have come a National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov long way since 1870! Richard, David, Wayne and Brian, thank you National Data Buoy Center for writing and sharing such a grand article. (Page 4) http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov Another great article on page 18 is our PMO Corner show casing ship AMVER Program http://www.amver.com reports from the Straits of Florida. This is another collaborative effort by our PMO out of Miami, David Dellinger and the Marine VOS Program http://www.vos.noaa.gov Program Meteorologist “Chip” Kasper, from NWS Forecast Office Key West Florida. Mariners Weather Log http://www.vos.noaa.gov/mwl.shtml So without further ado…grab yourself a nice glass of eggnog, sprin- Marine Dissemination http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm kle a little nutmeg on top, cozy in and enjoy the MWL! TURBOWIN e-logbook software Cheers! http://www.knmi.nl/turbowin U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center Paula http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/ On the Cover: Clockwise from upper left: NOAA Ship See these Web pages for further links. Delaware III, Weather Station at Cape Henry, Early Signal Service Map, NWS Columbia, SC, Weather Bureau Forecast Office, IBM 7090 console. All images courtesy NOAA’s Photo Library, http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ Mariners Weather Log Volume. 58, Number 3, December 2014 Table of Contents Marine Weather Forecasting in the National Weather Service (NWS) . .4 PMO Corner: Ship Reports from the Straits of Florida in Plain Language . .18 Shipwreck: CARL LEVERS Wrecked In Cyclone 50 Years Ago . .19 Wave Setup during Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Cyclone Mahina . .21 Japan Tsunami Debris Update . .26 Hail and Farewell! . .27 Port Meteorological Officers Hold a Workshop . .28 Departments: Marine Weather Review Mean Circulation Highlights and Climate Anomalies May through August 2014 . .31 Marine Weather Review – North Atlantic Area May to August 2014 . .35 Marine Weather Review – North Pacific Area May to August 2014 . .48 Tropical Atlantic and Tropical East Pacific Areas – January through April 2014 . .64 VOS Program VOS Program New Recruits: July 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014 . .71 VOS Cooperative Ship Report: January 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014 . .72 Got Weather Photo Submissions. .72 Points of Contact . .73 Marine Weather Forecasting in the National ice Weather Service (NWS) Richard May – Marine Meteorologist David Soroka – National Marine Program Manager Wayne Presnell – Marine Meteorologist NOAA’s National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD Brian Garcia – Senior Forecaster NOAA’s National Weather Service, Eureka, CA The National Weather Service NOAA’s National Weather Over half of the U.S. population Marine Program has a mission Service is responsible for issu- lives within 50 miles of the to provide marine weather fore- ing marine forecasts and warn- coast. At sea, maritime com- casts, warnings, and other ings for the U.S. coastal waters merce has tripled in the last 50 information for the protection of and Great Lakes, offshore and years. In the following sections, life and property while on the high seas portions of the we will explain how marine waters. Weather and ocean Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, weather forecasts are made, data are critical to the mariner. Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and the history of marine weather This is due to a combination of for a portion of the Arctic forecasting, and then take a hazards – such as strong wind Ocean (north of Alaska). look at the future of marine and large waves – and the weather forecasting. inherent isolation while on the In coastal areas, NWS provides water. Mariners in smaller ves- vital services and products to The History of Marine sels encountering hazardous inform and protect residents, Weather Forecasting in the conditions in the coastal waters businesses, tourists, and others National Weather Service and Great Lakes may be hours from hazardous weather and away from safe port and at the surf conditions.Typically in the In 1870, a Joint Congressional mercy of the elements. Large coastal community, rip currents, Resolution requiring the ships at sea also face potential- inundation due to storms and Secretary of War "to provide for ly great dangers and are often unusually high tides are the pri- taking meteorological observa- days away from a safe port. mary focus. Marine observa- tions at the military stations in When in peril, rescue of these tions and forecasts also sup- the interior of the continent, vessels may be hours or days port ecological assessments and at other points in the in coming. Reliable, rapid, and and predictions, disaster States and Territories...and for easy access to weather infor- response, and decision support giving notice on the northern mation, when properly under- services. lakes and on the seacoast, by stood and applied, supports magnetic telegraph and marine decisions which ultimately lead The NWS marine forecast serv- signals, of the approach and to saving lives and reducing ices support vital decision-mak- force of storms" was intro- economic losses. Not having ing processes for short, medi- duced. Congress passed the accurate and timely weather um, and long-range planning, resolution and on February 9, information and the knowledge emergency response, and haz- 1870, President Ulysses S. to properly apply it, increases ard mitigation. This empowers Grant signed it into law. A new risk to mariners and their ves- mariners and other users to be national weather service was sels. better informed – and therefore born within the U.S. Army December 2014 ~ Mariners Weather Log Weather Marine Weather Forecasting in the National Weather Serv Weather in the National Forecasting Weather Marine Log Weather Weather 2014 ~ Mariners December safer and more productive. Signal Service’s Division of 4 Telegrams and Reports for the decision to invade Normandy Benefit of Commerce that on June 6, 1944 was based on ice would affect the daily lives of accurate weather forecasts most of the citizens of the indicating the correct combina- United States through its fore- tion of tides and winds. casts and warnings for years to come. A Marine weather program began on January 23, 1873 at the United States Army Signal Service’s Division (US Army Signal Corps today) in New Orleans, Louisiana. On that day, the Signal Observer tran- scribed meteorological data from the ship logs of those arriving in port. On October 1, 1890, the weather service Picture 1 - Signal Tower for Storm becomes a civilian agency Warning Flags used by day, when Congress, at the request lanterns by night. Used to warn of President Benjamin mariners In: "The Boy and the U.S. Harrison, passes an act trans- Weather Men", 1917, p.236. Photo Courtesy of U.S. Weather Bureau Picture 2 - Coast Guard aircraft ferring the meteorological circa 1910. used to drop hurricane warnings to responsibilities of the Signal sponge fishermen off the west Service to the newly-created of the state of the atmosphere.

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