Marine Forecast Offices and Centers provide links to their products as well as additional regionally focused information.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PRODUCTS VIA AMATEUR "HAM" RADIO

Amateur radio, commonly referred to as "Ham" radio, is popular among the yachting and small boat community as a means of providing communications and receiving weather information. Amateur radio can be operated nearly worldwide, however, certain restrictions may exist and advanced permits may be required when operating within the territorial limits of another country. Within the U.S., amateur radio is regulated by the FCC. Information on licensing and all other aspects of amateur radio may be obtained by contacting the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) at 860-594-0200.

NEWS FLASH - The FCC has announced that beginning April 15, 2000 the requirement for proficiency of the morse code at 13 or 20 words-per-minute will no longer be required to obtain amateur radio operating privileges in the HF shortwave bands. Click here for further details.

Among the many aspects of amateur radio, "Hams" operate several maritime "nets" where information of common interest to mariners, such as weather, is exchanged. These nets are extremely popular in areas of the world which have a large yachting population and where weather is dynamic, such as in the Caribbean. Weather reports are typically exchanged in voice via single sideband although the popularity of digital modes such as SITOR/AMTOR, radioteletype (RTTY), PACTOR I, PACTOR II, PACTOR III, PSK31, and e-mail exchanges, such as the WinLink 2000 Global Radio Network (includes an option to download more than 450 graphic and text-based worldwide weather products), are growing rapidly . Information on amateur radio maritime nets may be found by contacting the ARRL or using an Internet search engine to search on such topics as "ham radio nets", or "maritime amateur radio". Click here to visit a webpage listing many of these nets.

Visit The Hurricane Watch Net
Visit The Maritime Mobile Service Network
Visit The Pacific Seafarer's Net
Visit The Seafarer's Net
Visit The Caribbean Maritime Mobile Net
Visit The Manana Net
Visit The Waterway Net
Visit The U.S. Power Squadrons Net
Visit The Northwest Boaters Net
Visit The British Columbia Boaters Net
Visit The Italian Amateur Radio Maritime Service Net

Note to Net Operators - It would be helpful for nets to each establish a webpage so that we might be able to inform mariners of your activities.

MAROB
Many radio amateurs participate in the MAROB Program. The MAROB Program is an experimental voluntary marine observation program of the National Weather Service in the early stages of development.

SKYWARN™
Many radio amateurs participate in the SKYWARN Program. SKYWARN is a nationwide network of volunteer weather spotters who report to and are trained by the National Weather Service. These spotters report many forms of significant or severe weather such as Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Hail, Heavy Snow, or Flooding. Contact your local National Weather Service Forecast Office to learn about SKYWARN activities in your area.

-- The National Weather Service and ARRL will cosponsor an on-the-air event to recognize the contribution of SKYWARN volunteers. The NWS/ARRL SKYWARN Recognition Day will be Saturday, December 3, 2005. See the NWS/ARRL SKYWARN Recognition Day Web page.

APRSWXNET/Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP)
Originally, APRSWXNET was developed as a way for amateur radio operators to transmit weather data to the NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) in Boulder, Colorado for research. The success of this effort and the amount of data routinely collected have led to use by other research labs and by operational parts of NOAA including the National Weather Service. The system has also been expanded to allow collection of observations via the Internet, thereby expanding the program to persons not holding an amateur radio license. The program offers the potential of greatly improving the accuracy of marine forecasts and timeliness of warnings. An example would be a network of volunteer automated weather stations installed at marinas and yacht clubs along the coast. For further information, visit the CWOP Webpage

Nearby CWOP weather data may be retrived via the Internet as in the following examples where 20902 is the zip code, or the position is 39.1N, 77.1W, or via NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) Display of Surface Data.