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

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARINE PRODUCTS VIA RADIOFAX

NWS Marine Radiofax Products and Detailed Schedules
Worldwide Marine Radiofacsimile Broadcast Schedules (PDF)

USCG to continue HF weather broadcasts via radiofax, voice, and SITOR

Beginning Dec 01, 2008, several changes will be made to the High Wind/Wave Warning charts broadcast from New Orleans, Boston and Pt. Reyes. Specifically, the charts will become 48 hour forecasts and the associated text will read either GALE WARNING, STORM WARNING, or HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING.

Effective Tuesday December 02, 2008 the Anchorage Forecast Office will terminate production and dissemination of the Coastal Marine Forecast Tables. The 96HR Surface Forecast will then be rebroadcast in these time slots. For questions regarding this notice please contact: bob.hopkins@noaa.gov

Reports from mariners of both poor AND good radio reception would be greatly appreciated. Please be specific as possible noting your location, equipment/software used, date(s), time(s), signal strength, etc. Send your comments to marine.weather@noaa.gov.

Radiofax, also known as HF FAX, radiofacsimile or weatherfax, is a means of broadcasting graphic weather maps and other graphic images via HF radio. HF radiofax is also known as WEFAX, although this term is generally used to refer to the reception of weather charts and imagery via satellite. Maps are received using a dedicated radiofax receiver or a single sideband shortwave receiver connected to an external facsimile recorder or PC equipped with a radiofax interface and application software.

Note:  Any reference to a commercial product or service does not imply any  endorsement by the National Weather Service as to function or suitability for your purpose or environment. 

Dedicated radiofax hardware is available from Alden, Furuno, Japan Marina Co. Ltd, JRC, STN ATLAS Marine (SAM) Electronics, SEA, and Taiyo. Available radiofax software programs include (in alphabetical order) ACfax(LINUX), Board Terminal, Code300-32, Easyfax110(DOS), FTV(DOS), GetFax, HamComm 3.1(DOS), HamFax(LINUX), ICS FAX6, JVCOMM32, Meteofax32, MixW, MFJ-1214PC, MSCAN, MultiFax(DOS?), Multimode (MAC), PC HF Facsimile 8.0 For Windows , PC GOES/WEFAX, PC Radiofax for Windows, ProMeteo, RadioCom, SeaTTY, SkySweeper, Wavecomm. WeatherMan V2.01, WeatherFax, Weather Fax 2000, WeatherTrac, WeFax for Windows , Wfax/2 (OS/2), WiNRADiO Digital Suite, WinSkan, WxImageApplications, and WXSat. Also see the Worldwide Radiofacsimile Webpage for listings of available equipment and software as well as information on radiofax services available worldwide.

Many radiofax software programs are also capable of copying National Weather Service marine text forecasts broadcast by the U.S. Coast Guard using HF SITOR/NDBP. CLICK HERE for details.

For Historic Weather and Satellite Data Contact:

National Climatic Data Center 
151 Patton Avenue, room 120 
Asheville, NC 28801-5001 
828-271-4800
828-271-4876 (FAX)
weborder@ncdc.noaa.gov 
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html

Marine Radiofacsimile is more than 80 years old! - The earliest broadcasts of weather maps via radiofacsimile appear to have been made in 1926 by American inventor Charles Francis Jenkins in a demonstration to the NAVY. Jenkins is often credited with the invention of the motion picture and later established the first U.S. TV station, W3XK in Wheaton, MD. RCA and the U.S. Weather Bureau conducted further tests and began cooperative efforts in 1930. While radiofacsimile has been used for everything from transmitting newspapers to wanted posters in the past, the broadcasting of marine weather charts is today the primary application.

An online version of our Worldwide Marine Radiofacsimile Broadcast Schedules  (Oct 28, 2008 version - Incorporating changes which go into effect Nov 03) is now available in PDF format. To view or print the document you must have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. Click here to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The NWS Ocean Prediction Center makes available a Radiofacsimile Charts User's Guide online.

Click here to listen to what a typical radiofax signal sounds like on the air.

The National Weather Service radiofax program prepares high seas weather maps for broadcast via four U.S. Coast Guard (Boston, New Orleans, Pt. Reyes, and Kodiak) and one DOD transmitter site (Honolulu). These broadcasts are prepared by the Ocean Prediction Center , Tropical Prediction Center, Honolulu Forecast Office. and Anchorage Forecast Office. Limited satellite imagery, sea surface temperature maps and text forecasts are also available. These offices provide links to their products as well as other supplementary information.

NWS radiofax products are available via the Internet (HTTP, FTP or E-mail). Although available, Internet access is not presently technically feasible for most vessels and broadcast of graphic marine forecasts via HF radiofax remains among the most valued of NWS marine services.

The International Ice Patrol also broadcasts radiofax charts from Boston sharing the same transmitters. Visit the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Telecommunications Information webpage for more information on U.S. Coast Guard telecommunications.

The U.S. Navy terminated all regularly scheduled radiofax transmissions with the exception of the Mediterranean beginning January 1, 1998 and services to the Mediterranean from Rota, Spain beginning March 1, 1999. The system is operated in a back-up mode for on-demand service by fleet units upon request. These transmissions are to meet the requirements of the U.S. military and have no direct connection to the National Weather Service's radiofax program. For questions on the U.S. Navy's radiofax program, contact the NAVLANTMETOCCEN Command Duty Officer at 1-757-444-4044, e-mail maritime.cdo@navy.mil  Also visit our Links page for further information on Navy Meteorological programs, products and services.

See tables below for abbreviated versions of  radiofax broadcast schedules. Assigned frequencies shown, for carrier frequency subtract 1.9 kHz. Typically dedicated radiofax receivers use assigned frequencies, while receivers or transceivers, connected to external recorders or PC's, are operated in the upper sideband (USB) mode using carrier frequencies.

All radiofax broadcasts of National Weather Service products employ a radiofax signal of 120 lines-per-minute (LPM) and an Index-of Cooperation (IOC) of 576. These values must be entered into the users equipment or software program in order for the radiofax image to be displayed properly.

Refer to NGA Publication 117, which is updated through the Notice to Mariners, for the latest official listing of U.S. Coast Guard broadcast schedules. The British Admiralty List of Radio Signals , is an excellent reference source for weather broadcast information.

We have received several reception reports of our longer radiofax products being incomplete. We have determined the likely cause to be the radiofax reception software in use. For example, in JVCOMM32, the default "Max Lines/Picture" parameter within File/Configuration/Faxmode Editor is 2560 (2560/120 lpm=21.3 minutes). Modifying the setting to 4200 will allow reception of radiofax products of up to 35 minutes (35 x 120 lpm = 4200) in length. Other radiofax programs may have a fixed maximum length or similar variable settings.

All NWS marine forecasts rely heavily on the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program for obtaining meteorological observations.

Reports from mariners of both poor AND good radio reception , as well as any other comments about weather broadcast services and forecast products are always greatly appreciated. Please be specific as possible noting your location, equipment/software used, date(s), time(s), frequency(s), mode (fax, voice, NAVTEX, etc.), signal strength, and problem observed (e.g. interference, noise, sync loss, echoes, etc), product name ( e.g. high seas text forecast for METAREA IV, if internet state link, etc. ). Send your comments to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/feedback.htm.
 
 

Boston (NMF) 4235(02z, 08z),   6340.5,   9110,   12750(14z)   kHz   Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast	0230Z	0745Z	1400Z	1720Z	1900Z
Broadcast Schedule	0243Z		1405Z
International Ice Patrol (Seasonal, ~Feb- Sep) Call Letters NIK	0438Z		1600Z	1810Z

 

New Orleans (NMG) 4317.9, 8503.9, 12789.9, 17146.4(12,18Z) kHz  Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast	0000Z	0600Z	1200Z	1800Z
Broadcast Schedule				2025Z

 

Kodiak(NOJ) 2054(10z, 18z), 4298, 8459, 12412.5(4z, 22z) kHz    Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast	0400Z	0950Z	1600Z	2150Z
Broadcast Schedule			1727Z
Note: All frequencies may be broadcast simultaneously at times

 

Pt.Reyes(NMC) 4346(except 19z,23Z), 8682, 12786, 17151.2, 22527(19z,23Z) kHz   Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast	0140Z	0655Z	1120Z	1400Z	1840Z	2320Z
Broadcast Schedule			1124Z			2324Z

 

Honolulu (KVM70) 9982.5(0519-1556z), 11090, 16135(1719-0356z) kHz   Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast	0519Z		1719Z
Broadcast Schedule	1300Z		0100Z
(Note: DOD station, not USCG)