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NOAA 2002-R208 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Leslie 4/15/02 |
NOAA News
Releases 2002 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
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TO FORECASTERS, MARINE COMMUNITY A new data buoy, deployed last week in central Lake Ontario by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will provide added critical, real-time weather observations that local National Weather Service (NOAA Weather Service) meteorologists said would help improve forecasts and increase safety for mariners. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department. The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), part of NOAA Weather Service, and the Canadian Coast Guard combined efforts to deploy the new buoy 30 miles northeast of Rochester, N.Y. The buoy, identified as 45012, is the ninth NDBC buoy in the Great Lakes, joining two others in Lake Ontario operated by the Meteorological Service of Canada. "The Great Lakes region creates fast-changing weather conditions that can be frightening if you're out on the water," said Darin Figurskey, meteorologist in charge of the NOAA Weather Service forecast office in Buffalo, N.Y. "Having another buoy to give real-time observations about wind speed, wave heights and temperature will help us deliver better forecasts." The new buoy's observations will be relayed through the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite to computers at NOAA Weather Service headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. From there, the observations will be transmitted to local weather forecast offices, international weather agencies and the private sector. "Mariners make decisions based on the buoy observations and marine forecasts they receive," said Dave Gilhousen, an NDBC meteorologist. "It's crucial for these observations to be accurate and timely." The buoy's real-time weather observations will be posted under the Recent Data Section of the NDBC's Web site, http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov. The latest observations also will be available through the Dial-A-Buoy system, (228) 688-1948. The NDBC, located at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, first began deploying weather buoys in the Great Lakes in 1979, after the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. NOAA Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA Weather Service operates the most advanced weather warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. NOAA Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. To learn more about the NOAA Weather Service, visit: http://weather.gov. |