Mariners Weather Log
ISSN 0025-3367U.S. Department of Commerce
Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Acting NOAA Administrator Acting Administrato
National Weather Service
Dr. Louis Uccelini
NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services
Editorial Supervisor
Paula M. Rychtar
Layout and Design
Stuart Hayes NDBC Technical Publications Office
Articles, photographs, and letters should be sent to:
Ms. Paula M. Rychtar, Editorial Supervisor
Mariners Weather Log
NDBC (W/OPS 51)
Building 3203
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
Phone: (228) 688-1457
Fax: (228) 688-3923
E-mail:
paula.rychtar@noaa.gov
From the Editor
Paula Rychtar
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 Meteorological Officers was held on-site at the NASA Stennis Space 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 various needs with the Deputy Director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, Laura Furgione. Laura’s visit to our workshop was in itself validating that our VOS program and our PMO’s are held high in regard at the Headquarters level; her report showed that VOS was ranked in the top 50% among all NOAA observing systems! John Murphy, director of the National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology, reiterated this fact plus more. It was a productive busy three days! You can find the rest of the story and some great photos on page 28.
We have several great articles to offer you this issue. One that I would like to mention is a collaborative effort; our colleagues from National Weather Service Headquarters in Silver Spring Maryland and a Senior Forecaster in the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Eureka, California. When I initially received this article, I took notice of how lengthy it was; after reading this article, there was nothing I would want to cut out to shorten it. This is one of those great articles that give you the much needed background on how much effort goes into the production of marine weather forecasting. This article also gives great insight on the history of marine weather forecasting and slowly brings you up to the current practices as well 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 long way since 1870! Richard, David, Wayne and Brian, thank you for writing and sharing such a grand article. (Page 4)
Another great article on page 18 is our PMO Corner show casing ship reports from the Straits of Florida. This is another collaborative effort by our PMO out of Miami, David Dellinger and the Marine Program Meteorologist “Chip” Kasper, from NWS Forecast Office Key West Florida.
So without further ado…grab yourself a nice glass of eggnog, sprinkle a little nutmeg on top, cozy in and enjoy the MWL!
Cheers!
Paula
On the cover: Clockwise from upper left: NOAA Ship 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/
Some Important Web Page Addresses
| NOAA | http://www.noaa.gov |
| National Weather Service | http://www.weather.gov |
| National Data Buoy Center | http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov |
| AMVER Program | http://www.amver.com |
| VOS Program | http://www.vos.noaa.gov |
| TURBOWIN e-logbook Software | http://www.knmi.nl/turbowin |
| Mariners Weather Log | http://www.vos.noaa.gov/mwl.shtml |
| Marine Dissemination | http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm |
| U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center | http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ |