Mariners Weather Log - Voluntary observing ship program · Meteorological Services Observations ......

Vol. 46, No. 1 Spring/Summer 2002

Mariners Weather Log

Additional Observations of a Seventeenth Century Seafarer:

William Dampier

(see page 16)

“…and then we saw a CorpusSant at our Main-top-mast

Head, on the very Top ofthe Truck of the Spindle.

This sight rejoiced ourMen exceedingly, forthe height of theStorm is commonlyover when theCorpus Sant is seenaloft. But whenthey are seen lyingon the Deck, it isgenerally accounteda bad Sign.

“A Corpus Sant is acertain small glittering

Light. When it appears,as this did, on the very

Top of the Main-mast or ata Yard-arm, it is like a Star. But

when it appears on the Deck, itresembles a great Glow-worm…”

2 Mariners Weather Log

From the Editorial Supervisor



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEDonald L. Evans, Secretary

National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration

Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Administrator

National Weather ServiceJohn J. Kelly, Jr.,

Assistant Administrator for Weather Services

Editorial SupervisorRobert A. Luke

EditorBernadette T. Duet

Layout/DesignBernadette Duet

Stuart HayesPatti Geistfeld

Articles, photographs, and letters should be sentto:

Mr. Robert A. Luke, Editorial SupervisorMariners Weather LogNDBC (W/OPS 52)Bldg 1100, Room 353DStennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

Phone: (228) 688-1457 Fax: (228) 668-3153

E-mail: [email protected]

Some Important Web Page Addresses

NOAA http://www.noaa.govNational Weather Service http://www.nws.noaa.govNational Data Buoy Center http://www.ndbc.noaa.govAMVER Program http://www.amver.comVOS Program http://www.vos.noaa.govSEAS Program http://seas.nos.noaa.gov/seas/Mariners Weather Log http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/

mwl/mwl.htmMarine Dissemination http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/

marine/home.htmU.S. Coast Guard http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ Navigation Center marcomms/

See these Web pages for further links.

Welcome to Spring. The birds are singing,flowers are blooming, and the sun’swarmth is re-energizing the earth. So I

happen to look at the world from a northern hemisphericperspective - sorry to my friends in the South. It is just thatI get all excited as the warm weather of spring returns. Ofcourse, living in southern Mississippi, it only lasts a fewweeks until the sweltering heat and humidity of the deepsouth returns. When you add the fire ants, theoverabundance of mosquitoes, and the intense, springtimethunderstorms, you wonder why anyone would want tolive here at all.

Actually, I believe that being out at sea is the best you canask for in life. You get the warmth of the sun and the windin your face to make you feel free and alive as you travelall around this beautiful orb that we call home.

As the seasons change, so does life. There will be goodtimes as well as bad, and it is up to us as to how we readthe clouds and weather our storms.

In this issue, we have changed our issue date to reflect theseasons. We also say farewell to one of our own, JimNelson, our Houston PMO, who has retired and found hissnug harbor. We get a valuable history lesson about theEdmund Fitzgerald that can keep us safe in the future,and to reflect upon the past, the British Met Officedonated an interesting article about the escapades andobservations of a seventeenth century seafarer namedWilliam Dampier.

So, no matter on what bearing life has you traveling today,find a leeward shelter for awhile and enjoy our latestoffering of the Mariners Weather Log. – Luke

Spring/Summer 2002 3


Table of Contents

Edmund Fitzgerald Remembered .................................................................................................................. 4

Shipwreck - George Stone ........................................................................................................................... 11

The Beatrice Hurricane ...............................................................................................................................12

Houston PMO Retires .................................................................................................................................14

Seventeenth Century Seafarer, William Dampier .......................................................................................16

Marine Prediction Center Sets Sail on First Alliance ...................................................................................23

VOS Climate Project ...................................................................................................................................24

Attention Ship Owners, Ship Operators and Navigation Officers - We Need Obs South African Weather Service ..................................................................................................................37

New Great Lakes Weather Station .............................................................................................................79

Departments:

Marine Weather ReviewNorth Atlantic, Sept.– Dec. 2001 ...................................................................................................38North Pacific, Sept. - Dec. 2001 ....................................................................................................51Tropical Atlantic and Tropical East Pacific, Sept. - Dec. 2001 .....................................................62

Coastal Forecast Office News ....................................................................................................................80Alaskan Waters: Collecting Ships Observations .............................................................................80Awards ...........................................................................................................................................83

VOS Program ..............................................................................................................................................86VOS New Recruits ........................................................................................................................86VOS Awards ..................................................................................................................................87

Meteorological ServicesObservations ...................................................................................................................................92


Edmund Fitzgerald

Great Lakes Storm November 9-11,1998:Edmund Fitzgerald Remembered

Kirk LombardyMarine ForecasterNWS, Cleveland, Ohio

The author wishes to express his respect toward the Captains and crews of the Great Lakes shippingindustry. The issue of the great tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald would rather be kept solemn bymany. The intent of this article is to show how the interaction between the National Weather Serviceand marine interests has progressed in the last 24 years.

Edmund Fitzgerald

On 10 November 1975, themost notorious GreatLakes shipping disaster

occurred. The SS EdmundFitzgerald sank and it’s crew of29 men perished in the deepwaters of Lake Superior duringan intense storm which haddeveloped over the central UnitedStates and made a bee-line forthe western Great Lakes.

Twenty-three years later, a caseof deja vu settled in on theanniversary of the SS EdmundFitzgerald. From 9 - 11November 1998, a storm of equalproportions developed over thesame area as the Fitzgeraldstorm and followed a similar pathtoward the western Great Lakes.However, this time there was animproved forecast, warning, anddissemination system in place.

Final Voyage of the SSEdmund Fitzgerald

On 9 November 1975,Fitzgerald began loading atBurlington Northern Railroad

Dock No. 1, in Superior, WI. Theship’s final voyage would carrytaconite; destined for Detroit, MI(Figure 1).

Fitzgerald departed at full speedof approximately 14 Knots (16mph). Two hours into the voyage,the ship arrived at a point nearTwo Harbors, MN. The SSArthur M. Anderson, owned bythe United States Steel Corp.,bound for Gary, IN proceededeastward on a similar course asFitzgerald. The two ships wereapproximately 10 to 20 miles apart.

Routine weather reports, via radio,were made at 0600 UTC (0100EST) and 1200 UTC (0700 EST)by the Fitzgerald on 10November. At 1220 UTC (0720EST), a normal radio report wasmade to the company office. Thereport indicated the estimated timeof arrival was indefinite due toweather.

Fitzgerald headed northeastaway from the recommendedshipping lanes along the south

shore of Lake Superior. (Strongnortheast storm force windscaused extremely high waves atthe end of the fetch on the southshore of the lake).

Fitzgerald’s new course passedapproximately half way betweenIsle Royal and the KeewanawPeninsula. At this point, the shipturned eastward to parallel thenorthern shore of Lake Superiorand then southeast-ward along theeastern shore. Fitzgerald reacheda point approximately 11 milesNorthwest of Michipicoten Islandat 1800 UTC (1300 EST),10 November. The ship passed tothe West of Michipicoten WestEnd Light. At this point,Fitzgerald changed course topass north and east of CaribouIsland on a southeast headingtoward Whitefish Bay, MI.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sanknear the International BoundaryLine some time after 0015 UTC(1915 EST). Her final coordinateswere 46°59.9’N, 85°06.6’W.


Edmund Fitzgerald

SS Edmund FitzgeraldEncountered Weather

The storm of historical proportionsdeveloped over the OklahomaPanhandle on 8 November, and by1200 UTC (0700 EST), on 9November, this strengtheningstorm was located over southernKansas (Figure 2).The track at this time was to thenortheast with a minimumbarometric pressure of 29.53" ofHg. On 9 November at 1200 UTC(0700 EST), National WeatherService (NWS) forecast maps forsurface conditions out to 36-hourspredicted that the storm wouldtrack in a northeast direction andpass just south of Lake Superiorby 0000 UTC on 11 November(1900 EST 10 November).The NWS made several revisionsto the forecasts by gradually

increasing the wind speed andwave heights.

Gale warnings were issued in earlyforecasts on 9 November for theeastern portions of Lake Superior.Successive forecasts indicatedwinds would increase from theeast-northeast at 25 to 37 knotsduring the night of 9 November.Since the low was forecast to passsouth of Lake Superior, windswere expected to gradually shiftaround to the north and thennorthwest.Gale warnings were upgraded tostorm warnings at 0700 UTC(0200 EST) on 10 November.Later forecast revisions called forwinds to increase to 35 to 50 knotsfrom the northeast and thendiminish slightly to 28 to 38 Knotsfrom the northwest on Tuesday,11 November. Waves were

forecast to build to 8 to 16 feet byMonday afternoon.

A cold front extended about 20miles west of Caribou Island,Ontario and was moving at aspeed of 20 to 25 knots toward theeast. Earlier forecasts projectedthe low to pass just south of LakeSuperior. The forecasters noticedthe low would pass slightly furthernorth over the eastern end ofLake Superior and forecasts hadto be revised.

Based on the latest position andforecast track of the storm, theforecasters knew the wind speedwas under forecast. A revision tothe forecast was made at 2139UTC (1639 EST) on 10November. The wind wasincreased to 38 to 52 knots from


Edmund Fitzgerald

the northwest. Gusts to 60 knotswere also expected.

The early forecasts for this eventindicated an increase in windspeed as the storm movednortheast. However, the forecastsconsiderably under estimated thestrength of the storm and itsmotion.

Each forecast revision hadstronger forecast winds than theprevious forecast. This was likelya result of limited forecastguidance and a reaction, by theforecasters, to the deepeningstorm.

Another difficult situation theforecasters encountered was how

to handle the changing winddirections and speeds as the lowmoved over the lake. The ultimategoal is to convey a clear andconcise forecast. However, thisstorm did not prove to be easy todescribe the forecast windconditions.

Ships that were built in the 1970swere thought to be invincible andthat they could handle rough seas.The improving technology allowedengineers to design larger ships.According to the PortMeteorological Officer stationedin Cleveland, Ohio, the larger andstronger ships gave crews a falsesense of security. Crews and theshipping industry took the risk and

battled the strong winds and roughseas the Great Lakes had to offer.

The combination of a complexforecast, the need to frequentlyupdate the forecasts, and theunknown risks encountered by theship’s crew contributed to thedemise of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The effects of the storm finallyabated by 0600 UTC (0100 EST)on 11 November.

The final track of the storm wasjust north of the forecast track on9 November. The storm movedfrom the northeast corner ofKansas on 9 November to eastcentral Iowa, central Wisconsin on10 November, Marquette,Michigan, west of MichipicotenIsland on Lake Superior, WhiteRiver, Ont., southern tip of JamesBay, and finally to eastern HudsonBay on 11 November. The lowestrecorded pressure of the stormwas 28.95" Hg.

The SS Edmund Fitzgeraldencountered winds and seas thatwere forecast by the NWS. Thefollowing are some actual weatherobservations that were reported bythe crew of the Fitzgerald: At0600 UTC (0100 EST) on 10November, the ship was about 20miles due south of Isle Royal andreporting winds from the northeastat 52 knots and waves of 10 feet.Then, six hours later, Fitzgeraldreported she was about 35 milesnorth of Copper Harbor, MI, andreported winds from the northeastat 35 knots and waves of 10 feet.


Edmund Fitzgerald

This was the final weather reportsent by Fitzgerald.

The nearby vessel SS Arthur M.Anderson was in the vicinity ofthe Fitzgerald when the weatherobservations were reported. TheAnderson substantiatedFitzgerald’s weather observationsat 0600 UTC (0100 EST) and1200 UTC (0700 EST) on10 November.

Further west (approximately 15miles southwest of theAnderson), a Canadian motorvessel Simcoe reported windsfrom the west at 44 knots andwaves 7 feet at 1800 UTC (1300EST) on 10 November. Anautomated weather sensing unit atStannard Rock was reportingwinds from the west-northwest at50 knots, gusting to 59 knots. At0000 UTC on 11 November (1900EST 10 November), StannardRock was reporting west-northwest winds at 40 knots,gusting to 65 knots.

Great Lakes Storm - November9-11, 1998

Storm Track and History

A major storm system developedover the Four Corners region ofthe United States on 8 November1998 and moved rapidly east to theOklahoma Panhandle (Figure 3).By 1500 UTC (1000 EST) on 9November 1998, the storm haddeepened to a central pressure of29.47" Hg. Further deepening was

expected to occur during the next36 hours. The storm began to tracknortheast through Kansas,southeast Nebraska, central Iowa,southeast Minnesota, to northernWisconsin where the centralpressure dropped to 28.51" Hg atapproximately 2100 UTC (1600EST) on 10 November. This is thelowest recorded pressure of thestorm and fell well below theminimum pressure of the EdmundFitzgerald storm (28.95" Hg).Gale warnings were issued at 1500UTC (1000 EST) on 9 Novemberfor Lake Superior. East-southeastwinds to 30 knots were forecastfor the early portions of Mondaynight but were forecast to increaseto gale strength to 35 knots late atnight. Waves were forecast tobuild to 6 to 8 feet overnight.Winds were expected to shift to

east-northeast and increase to 45knot gales on Tuesday whilewaves were forecast to continueto build to 8 to 12 feet during theday.

Storm warnings were issued at2100 UTC (1600 EST) on 9November for the eastern twothirds of Lake Superior as windswere forecast to reach stormforce of 50 knots on Tuesday.Waves were forecast to continueto build to 7 to 12 feet Tuesdayand to 12 to 20 feet Tuesday night.The highest waves were forecastfor the eastern two thirds of LakeSuperior.

Storm warnings were issued forthe rest of Lake Superior by 0900UTC (0400 AM EST). Stormforce winds were forecast to

Figure 3 - The storm track of the Great Lakes Storm,November 9-11, 1998.


Edmund Fitzgerald

increase to 60 knots from thewest-northwest on Wednesdaywith waves of 12 to 20 feet acrossthe lake.

The forecasts that were issued bythe NWS were consistentthroughout the entire event. Nomajor changes in the forecastwere made when a new forecastwas issued.

Overall, the forecasts for LakeSuperior were accurate and gavethe Captains and crews nearly 40hours of lead time to prepare forthe arrival of the storm and tomove their vessels to safe harbor.As previously mentioned, thehighest wind speeds were notexpected to occur on LakeSuperior until Wednesday, 11November. Observations fromvarious reporting stations indicatedsustained winds on the lake wereabove 50 knots with gusts over 60knots. The highest recorded waveheight was 15 feet on LakeSuperior. Waves were likely higherin locations where reporting siteswere not available; especially onthe down wind end of the lakewhere the greatest fetch occurred.More about the observations onLake Superior and the rest of theGreat Lakes will be discussed laterin the Wind and Wave Reportssection of this report.

The final track of the storm wasacross extreme western LakeSuperior to northern Lake Superiorand then on to James Bay and theHudson Bay by 1500 UTC (1000EST) on 11 November 1998. The

storm’s central pressuremaintained a steady stateaveraging about 28.70" Hg as itmoved from Lake Superior to theHudson Bay. This storm followeda similar track as the EdmundFitzgerald storm. Seas and windswere higher and strongerrespectively, as reported by shipsand buoys in the more recentstorm than the historical storm.This is likely the result of anincrease in the number of buoysand reporting stations on the GreatLakes.

A commercial shipping companycalled the NWS Office inCleveland, Ohio to report that thestorm was being compared to theFitzgerald storm. Captains of thelarge vessels heeded warnings anddropped anchors during the stormin safe harbor. They were notabout to take any chances with thestorm.

National Weather ServiceStatements and Bulletins

The National Weather ServiceForecast Office in Cleveland, Ohiois responsible for issuing stormoutlooks for the entire Great Lakesas part of the marine enhancementprogram.

NWS Cleveland issued a stormoutlook for the entire Great Lakesat 0530 UTC (0030 EST) on 9November 1998. The first StormBulletin was issued at 1730 UTC(1230 EST) on 10 November andbulletins continued through 2200UTC (1700 EST) on 11 November

when all Storm Warnings for theGreat Lakes were downgraded toGale Warnings. A total of 10reports were issued at three hourintervals.

Wind and Wave Reports

The highest wind gust reported onall of the lakes was from a shipanchored about 4 miles off ofSandusky Breakwater on LakeErie; which is on the south shore ofthe lake. At 2050 UTC (1550EST), on 10 November, the shipreported a wind gust to 98 knots(113 mph) from the west-southwest and waves of five feet.The low wave height of 5 feet wasdue to lack of fetch across thewater. The highest waves occur atthe downwind end of the lake.The maximum sustained windspeeds and gusts that occurred oneach of the lakes as reported byvarious stationary observationalpoints are as follows:

Lake Superior - northwest at 52knots with gusts to 63 knots; Lake Michigan - southwest at 41knots gusts to 54 knots; Lake Huron - south at 23 knotswith gusts to 51 knots; Lake Erie - southwest at 25 knotswith gusts to 64 knots; and Lake Ontario - southeast at 49knots with gusts to 64 knots.

The highest waves reported oneach of the lakes were as follows:

Lake Superior - 15 feet Lake Michigan - 20 feet Lake Huron - 14 feet


Edmund Fitzgerald

Lake Erie - 20 feet Lake Ontario - 13 feet

Higher waves likely occurred atlocations without reporting sites.

Today, ship Captains and crewsheed warnings issued by theNational Weather Service toprotect not only their lives but theirexpensive ships and cargo.Captains will drop the ship’sanchor in sheltered areas such asbehind islands and in navigablerivers for protection.

Storm Event Problems

Strong southwest winds forcedshallow water away from SaginawBay and the basin on the west endof Lake Erie. This causeddangerously low water levels tooccur and put vessels either in thebasin or planning on navigating inthe basin at risk. Tug boats thatremained in the basin bottomed outdue to low water levels.

Another vessel, the Wolverine, hitbottom at the Bay City WorkDock. The United States CoastGuard had to assist the vessel andno serious damage to the shipresulted.

Two duck hunters were reportedmissing on Saginaw Bay onTuesday (10 November). Thewinds were so strong that theCoast Guard could not search forthem until Wednesday morning.The duck hunters’ boat ended upbeing caught on some rocks off ofSebewaing (Huron County). One

of the duck hunters managed towalk to shore early Wednesdaymorning and the other duck hunterwas lifted off the rocks by aCoast Guard helicopter later thatmorning. Both hunters wereunharmed.

Thanks to improved forecasts,warnings, and dissemination, nolives were lost during this majorGreat Lakes Storm.

Improved National WeatherService Warning and ForecastSystems

The National Weather Servicehas made great strides over thelast 20 years in the developmentof forecast and warning tools.Faster and more powerfulcomputers allow forecasters tolook at developing storms in greatdetail. This is a major stepforward compared to the days ofthe Fitzgerald. Forecasters ofthe time relied on hand analyzedweather maps and crude, bytoday’s standards, satellite andradar weather information. Thehand analyzed charts consisted ofa surface map taken from routineweather observations at airportsacross the United States andCanada. The upper air maps wereplotted using upper air soundingsfrom weather balloons launchedtwice-a-day at 0000 UTC and1200 UTC. All of this informationwas fed into computers togenerate weather forecast mapsfor the next few days.

The computer models of the ‘70s

produced limited forecast data.Most forecasts were created bycomparing the hand analyzedcharts to the forecast maps. Windspeed and wave forecasts on theGreat Lakes were difficult tomake due to limited observationdata. Frequently, the forecasts hadto be updated based on ship andshore reports across the GreatLakes.

Communication systems of the‘70s were limited to the technologyof the time. Data transmission wasvery slow and forecasts had to bedelivered from one place toanother on paper rather thanelectronically. Ship to shore radioswere the only means ship Captainshad to receive the latest forecasts.The NWS used a Di-Fax systemto receive weather forecast mapsand noisy teletype machines totransmit and receive text data.

The NWS has undergone a majortransformation over the last 10years. A modernization plan wasdeveloped during the ‘80s toimprove the warning and forecastsystems in the NWS.

Next Generation GeostationaryOperational EnvironmentalSatellites (GOES - Next) havebeen launched during the ‘90s toimprove coverage across NorthAmerica. Satellites, already inplace, were beyond their usablelife and were in jeopardy of failing.The GOES satellites of the ‘90sallow forecasters to see rapid scananimation loops of clouds and


moisture in great detail duringsignificant storm events.

NWS Doppler radars have theability to detect both precipitationand air movements inside of astorm and determine the winddirection and speed. This featurewas not available with the radarsof the ‘70s.

State-of-the-art computer systemscalled Advanced WeatherInteractive Processing Systems(AWIPS) has been deployed inthe NWS across the country. TheAWIPS displays numerous datafields on two large computermonitors. The forecaster is able tooverlay satellite data over surfaceweather observations whilelooking at Doppler radar data onthe other monitor. The imagerycan be animated and updatedautomatically. This is especiallyuseful when looking at radar andsatellite data. A third monitor isused to edit text documents, suchas: marine forecasts, marineweather statements, or specialmarine warnings and stormwarnings.

A network of buoys has also beendeployed on the Great Lakes toreport wind and wave conditionsto the forecaster.

Computer generated weatherforecast models have improvedover the last 20 years and havereplaced outdated models. Thecomputer models provide detailedforecast parameters that displaywind speed and direction,temperature, relative humidity,cloud levels, the location andforecast track of storm systems,and wave height forecasts. Ascomputing power increases,smaller scale phenomena in theatmosphere such as lake effectprecipitation and lake breezes arebeing simulated with greaterprecision.

A denser network of land surfaceweather observations fromAutomated Surface ObservationSystems (ASOS) and marineweather observations such asbuoys and ship reports, also aidsin providing more data for detailedforecasts.

The result will be improvedweather forecasts because smallscale changes in the atmospherewill be detected earlier and withgreater precision.

The NWS will continue to strivefor improved forecast, warning,and dissemination systems toensure the safety of marineinterests.

Acknowledgments

My gratitude to Daron Boyce -former Senior MarineForecaster and George Smith -Port Meteorological Officer,from the National WeatherService Office in Cleveland,Ohio for their expertise in thehistorical perspective of theevents leading to the EdmundFitzgerald incident.

My thanks also to Gary Carter -former Chief of ScientificServices Division at theNational Weather ServiceEastern Region Headquartersand Robert LaPlante - ScienceOperations Officer for theNational Weather Service OfficeCleveland, OH who contributedinput, comments, andsuggestions to this report.

References

Merzlock, P., 1998: A report on theGreat Lakes storm ofNovember 9-11, 1998.

Marine Casualty Report - SSEdmund Fitzgerald; Sinking inLake Superior on 10 November1975 with Loss of Life, 1977,Department of Transportation -United States Coast Guard, p. 18-32.

Edmund Fitzgerald


The George Stone was atypical wooden GreatLakes freighter of the

latter part of the 19th century.The 282-foot, 6-inch long bulkcarrier was built by F.W. Wheeler& Co. and launched at West BayCity, MI on June 20, 1893.

The 1,841 gross ton vessel went towork in the Bradley fleet andhauled cargoes such as iron ore,coal and grain. It is shown in aphoto (on right) from the collectionof the Milwaukee Public Library.

George Stone was in a collisionthat sank the schooner S.H.Kimball on May 8, 1895. TheKimball went down in LakeHuron off Point aux Barques.

Later, in 1898, the George Stonewas one of 67 ships locked in theice that had to be freed by anicebreaker from Detroit.

On October 13, 1909, the GeorgeStone was carrying 2,800 tons ofcoal loaded at Ashtabula, OH fordelivery to Racine, WI. Asouthwest gale caught the sixteen-year-old steamer in the PeleePassage on Lake Erie, and it ranaground on Grubb Reef. Akerosene lamp in the pilothouseoverturned, and the structurecaught fire.

Attempts to get help werefruitless. The wooden lifeboat

smashed against the hull andbroke up after launching. TheCaptain was one of eight menwho then tried to take the steellifeboat ashore, but it overturnedbefore reaching land. Two sailorsmade it, but the Master was lostas he waded the final few yards.He was overwhelmed by theundertow and swept away. Hisbody was found the next springnear Conneaut, OH on the otherside of the lake.

Conditions on the George Stonewere deteriorating. Water pouredinto the hull through the seams,and the pumps became cloggedwith coal dust and shut down.

Fortunately, the steamer F.M.Osborne spotted the distressedvessel and was able to get intoposition to remove the ten sailorswho had remained on board.Before long the George Stonebegan to break apart and was atotal loss.

But the ordeal was not over. TheGeorge Stone had beenoperating with a non-union crew,and they had been pelted withstones leaving Ashtabula. Eventhe survivors received a rudewelcome arriving at Detroit.They were met by a mob beforeauthorities intervened andsecured their safety.

SHIPWRECK - George Stone

By Skip Gillham

George Stone

Shipwreck - George Stone


The Beatrice Hurricane: 15 September 1903

The menhaden fishingsteamer Beatrice was oneof the casualties of the

hurricane that hit the mid-Atlanticcoastline on 15 September 1903.This purse-seiner, owned by theAtlantic Fisheries Company, wascaught by the storm whenreturning to their factory at CapeCharles, VA. She had been built in1878 by Robert Palmer and Sons,at Noank, CT, and had beenlengthened from 105 feet to 135feet in 1900. She was powered bya 170 hp reciprocating steamengine, but, like most purse seinersof her day, also carried a suit ofsails. To take advantage of fairwinds, she could set a jib, main,and from a mast stepped on herafter deckhouse, a small mizzen.

The hurricane that was to provefatal to the Beatrice and othervessels struck Florida on 12September, crossing the state fromSE to NW. News, as well asweather forecasts, traveled moreslowly in those days, and it was notuntil three days later that theVirginian-Pilot newspaper inNorfolk carried a full report of thedamage it had caused. Theheadlines on 15 Septemberdeclared, “Florida swept by stormthat carries death and destructionin its path.” Further down the pagewas noted, “Southern storm

expected to be here today.” Bythen, however, it was too late togive any warning to the Beatrice,or any of the other craft then atsea.

The Beatrice, commanded byCapt. William Leland of Irvington,VA, had left the dock the previousSunday night. Along with the fleetsfrom the other fish factories onChesapeake Bay and theDelmarva Peninsula, she wouldcruise the coastal waters untilmenhaden were spotted from thecrow’s nest. They found largeschools, or “places” of them, justbeginning their annual southwardmigration, off the mouth ofDelaware Bay. By Tuesdayafternoon, the Beatrice had a fullload and was heading back downthe beach for Cape Charles.Following about 6 nmi behind herwas the Atlantic, another steamerfrom the Atlantic Fisheries Co.,and further astern was the AldenS. Swan, from a factory atHarborton.

At around 2100, when off theBlackfish Banks and almostabreast of Assateague Lighthouse,the Beatrice ran into thehurricane. Exactly what hercaptain did to try and weather thestorm will never be known, but weknow what was done by the

Atlantic, and can conclude thaton the Beatrice they were doingmuch the same. The Atlantic,caught by the sudden blast of windand a swiftly rising sea, tried to sether jib to hold her head up to it.This did not work (in any case itwas too bad a night to keep anycanvas aloft), and her engine -even at 350 hp - was not powerfulenough to keep her driving into theseas. She was shipping water overher decks and clear over herpilothouse, but somehow theymanaged to get her anchoroverboard. That held her until thehurricane passed, and she wasable to get on her way again. TheAtlantic had suffered heavydamage, and had lost her seineboats, net, and pieces of her rails.

The Alden S. Swan, when thestorm struck, turned and beat herway back up the beach, finallygaining shelter at DelawareBreakwater. The Atlantic, badlybattered, returned to Cape Charlesand got her fish out. She then putback out to sea to search for theBeatrice, which had still notarrived. After searching all daywithout any sight of the Beatriceor the Swan, she put in to Norfolkfor repairs. By this time, theVirginian-Pilot was reporting thatboth of these boats were missingand presumed lost.

Capt. E.L. SherrillNorfolk, Virginia

The Beatrice Hurricane


The Alden S. Swan made itsafely to Delaware Breakwaterand was reported there on19 September. The Beatrice’sfate was to remain a mystery, atleast for eleven days. On26 September, her stern section,including her engine room andafter deckhouse, washed ashoreat Caffeys Inlet Life SavingStation, just above Duck, N.C. Ithad drifted 105 nmi from whereshe had last been seen off theBlackfish Banks. The same day,her bow and the forward part ofher hull were reported ashorenear Virginia Beach. No tracewas ever found of the 28 soulswho had been her crew.

Why had the Beatrice foundered,when her two consorts, theAtlantic and the Swan, had safelyweathered the storm? The answermay lie in the way she had beenrebuilt, three years previous. Shehad been lengthened 20 feet andhad her main deck raised 2 feet.This may have aggravated a weakspot at her midships section whereher fish hold was located -menhaden steamers tend to loadand unload rapidly, which puts on alot of hogging and saggingstresses. From her wreck havingbeen found split into two sections,it would seem that her hull hadfailed in this area.

The Beatrice Hurricane

Life still had to go on, however,and in the days following thehurricane, the fleet was back outon the fishing grounds. There is norecord that any monument wasbuilt for the Beatrice or anymemorial service ever held for hercrew. Her memory was preservedonly by the expression of oldtimers in the industry, who, whencaught in a blow offshore, withnight coming on and safe harbor along ways ahead, would say, “Thisis as bad as the night the Beatricewas lost.”

Editor’s note:

Captain Sherrill is correct thatthe Beatrice was lost at sea dueto a hurricane. Although theclimatological records are a bitfuzzy, there were actually twostorms off the Atlantic seaboardduring September 1903.

The hurricane that struckFlorida had already crossedover Florida and was inlandover the AL-GA border and in aweak tropical storm status by theSeptember 15.

The second hurricane was eastof the VA Capes on the 15th withpeak intensity of sustainedwinds of 70 - 85 kt. - Luke

Steamer Beatrice


HOUSTON PORT METEOROLOGICALOFFICER, JIM NELSON, RETIRES

Jim Nelson, the Houston,Texas Port MeteorologicalOfficer (PMO) retired

from Government service onMarch 29, 2002.

Jim Nelson began his officialgovernment career 47 years agowhen he joined the “wooden shipsand iron men” of the U.S. Navy.Actually, he had been serving inthis nomadic life for years, for hehad salt in his blood from the dayhe was born – his father was aNavy Chief.

After basic training, Jim was sentto Oklahoma for additional militarybearing, and it was there that Jimencountered his first tornado andgained an interest in weather. Jimtook orders to the Navy WeatherSchool in Lakehurst, NJ. Upongraduating, Jim saw duty at manycommands like the USS Antietam(CVA/CVS-36), Naval Air StationQuonset Point, RI, USS Willis A.Lee (DL-5), and the USSCourtney (DE-1015). It wasaboard the Courtney that Jimlearned to navigate, shoot the Sunand Stars and use LORAN “B”.While serving on the USSOtterstetter (DER-335), Jimencountered another rare andtreacherous weather phenomena.

The Otterstetter was caught upin what history calls the AshWednesday storm that hit theEuropean coast. On that day in1960, this storm causedconsiderable damage in Holland.The Otterstetter ended upbreaking her back in that storm, soJim cross decked yet again to theUSS Edisto (AGB-2), just in timeto make the “exotic” port calls ofThule, Greenland, and Antarctica.

In the rest of Jim’s illustriousnaval career, he was assigned tothe USS Independence (CVA-62), and Fleet Weather Centrals inNorfolk, VA and Rota, Spain.

When Jim was assigned as anInstructor back in Lakehurstwhere he taught aviation and

synoptic surface observations,meteorology, plotting and upperair, he finally got a chance to paythe Navy back for all the fun hehad been given in past years.

Jim finally hung up his anchors in1974 while serving in Charleston,SC.

Not one for sitting still, Jim startedhis second career right away andbegan working for NOAA at theNational Climatic Center (laterrenamed National Climatic DataCenter) in Asheville, NC. Jim wasresponsible for checking surfaceand upper air observations forquality and correctness.

Nine years later the moving itchfinally won, and Jim transferred toGalveston, TX as a radar operator.In 1987, he assumed the duties asPMO in the Houston andGalveston region. Jim has beeninstrumental in the excellence ofthe VOS program and has been abenchmark to the kind of

By Robert LukeVOS Program Lead

Houston PMO Jim Nelson Retires

Jim Nelson, today

Jim Nelson, 1955


ambassadorship and shipmate thatthe waterfront knows andrespects.

Jim has been married to the formerElizabeth (Betty) A. Jensen ofWaltham MA for the last 41 years,and together they have 4 childrenand 4 grandchildren. Jim and Bettylive in League City, TX and don’thave any plans to move to someretirement village in Florida.Instead, Jim plans to spend most ofhis time working in his yard andaggravating his wife.

Houston PMO Jim Nelson Retires

When asked to comment about hisretirement, Jim’s only words were,“YES!! I made it!!”

On behalf of the VOS program,we wish, Jim and Betty, Fairwinds and following seas.

VOS participants keep a close eye on the weatherand notice cloud formations as indications ofweather activity. This series of cloud photos takenat L41-13N Long 68-00W southeast ofFrenchmans Bay was provided by Jack McAdam,Master of NOAA ship Delaware.


“Additional Observations”of a Seventeenth Century Seafarer: William Dampier

Marine meteorologicallogbooks submitted tothe Met Office contain

a wealth of information.Of course,of primary interest to the meteo-rologist and the climatologist arethe weather observations theycontain, but the ‘AdditionalObservations’ of meteorologicalphenomena and marine fauna andflora have similar significance forthose whose interests lie withinthe variety of subjects in theseareas.

In this latter category, there is littlenow reported by shipborneobservers that has not been seenbefore—waterspouts,bioluminescence, birds, fish,storms, whales, dolphins, to namebut a few topics — that can becommented upon or identified byspecialists, with a high degree ofconfidence.To aid such analyses,today’s specialist can call upon thecollective knowledge ofyesteryear, drawing upon theobservations, research andfindings of the past.

However, when the unusual doesoccur, whether it be (in the caseof natural history) a ‘common’species apparently no longerpresent in a previously favouredarea, or perhaps a ‘rarity’ seen inabundance, a large amount ofinterest can be generated, and

specialists will want to account forthe anomaly, or reach a conclusionabout the identity of a species.

William Dampier

Imagine, then, a time when the farcorners of the globe were stillbeing discovered; when new landswere claimed and mapped in thename of sovereignty (and foughtover for years afterwards); whenthe locations of sea areas and landmasses had still to be fully under-stood; when seafarers had only arudimentary knowledge of meteo-rology; and when there was onlyminimal collective knowledge uponwhich to draw when faced withunidentified phenomena andwildlife in far-flung places.Welcome to the mid-seventeenthcentury — and enter one WilliamDampier. Born around 1651 inSomerset, he was apprenticed as aboy to a ship’s master inWeymouth, and throughout aneventful life during which he wasby turns at first a trader, a planta-tion manager in Jamaica, and thena log-cutter in Mexico, he foundhis greatest adventure sailing (as aprivate individual) with Englishbuccaneers. Travelling with themprovided food and shelter of sortsand also a convenient means bywhich to satisfy his inclinations tosee the world and, between 1679

and 1691 he managed, unintention-ally, and by a rather tortuous routeto circumnavigate the globe.

Dampier’s intention was, basically,to describe everything he cameacross in his travels — had therebeen a tourism industry in his day,then his observations wouldprobably have been the equivalentof the detailed travel guidesavailable today. In the rest of thisarticle, we unashamedly dip intoDampier’s journals to reveal someof the accounts from his ownAdditional Observations.

‘Red lobsters’

In mid-November 1683, thebuccaneers sailed from the “Coastof Guinea” heading for he Straitsof Magellan via the Sibbel deWards [Falkland Islands] wherethey would look for fresh water;Dampier found “nothing worthyremark” until 28 January 1684when, 10 days out from theislands, he noted some flying-fish.After that, he says:

“January 28, we made theSibbel de Wards, which are 3islands lying in the lat. of 51d.25m. South, and 57d. 28m.West Longitude from theLizard in England, by myaccount.

William Dampier


“The Day that we madethese islands, we saw greatshoals of small lobsters whichcoloured the Sea red in spotsfor a Mile in compass, and we

drew some of them out of theSea in our Water-buckets.They were no bigger than thetop of a Man’s little finger, yetall their Claws, both great and

small, were like a Lobster. Inever saw any of this sort ofFish naturally red but here. Forours on the English Coast,which are naturally black, arenot red till they are boiled. Nordid I anywhere else meet withany Fish of the Lobster-shapeso small as these, except formaybe Shrimps or Prawns.”

Dampier seems to have been at aloss to further identify thesecreatures. However, if he had hadprior knowledge of the richness oflife found in the cold waters of theSouth Atlantic Ocean, he might havebeen able to identify his ‘redlobsters’ as possibly either the squatlobster (Munida subrugosa) or aclosely related species, or else thelate larval stage of crabs. Aroundthe Falkland Islands the adult squatlobsters have claws, swim and formswarms. The crabs in late larvalstage also swim, have claws andswarm but their abdomens do notfold underneath as they do in theadult form.

On the character of the PacificOcean

In April 1684, his ship was sailingup the western coast of SouthAmerica, and Dampier recordedhis thoughts about the conditionsfound in the South Pacific Ocean:

“Our passage now lay along thePacifick Sea, properly so called.For though it is usual with ourMap-makers to give that Name tothis whole Ocean, calling it MareAustrale, Mare del Zur or MarePacificum, in my Opinion, theName of the Pacifick Sea oughtnot to be extended from South to

In 1696 a marine fish catalogue was published in which wasillustrated many fish and other marine species known at the time.Whether or not the illustrations were based upon whole or parts ofphysical specimens, first-hand accounts or just hearsay is not known,but these three examples serve to illustrate that the age of seamonsters was still very much alive.

In (a) is an apparent represntation of a Dorado, frequently reported bymodern shipborne observers.

(a)

(NOAA Central Library)

A Hammerhead shark seems to be shown in (b) although this examplehas been given a defined neck for some reason’ a tell-tale ‘seam’around the neck almost suggests that the artist was presented withonly part of the shark, and was therefore forced to invent theremainder of the body!

(b)


In (c) the reader is best left to juge what the artist is trying to show -fish, bird or mammal?

(c)

(NOAA Central Library)NOAA library

William Dampier


North farther than from 30 toabout 4 Deg. South Latitude, andfrom the American Shore West-ward indefinitely. For with respectto my observation, I have been inthese parts 250 Leagues or morefrom Land, and still had the Seavery quiet from Winds. For in allthis Tract of Water of which Ihave spoken, there are no darkrainy Clouds, though often a thickHorizon, so as to hinder andObservation of the Sun with theQuadrant. And in the Morningthere is frequently hazy Weather,and thick Mists, but scarce able towet one. Nor are there in this Seaany Winds but the Trade Wind,noTempests, no Tornadoes orHurricanes (though North of theEquator, they are met with in thisOcean as well as in the Atlantick),yet the Sea itself, at the new andfull of the Moon, runs with high,large, long Surges, which neverbreak out at Sea, and so are safeenough, except for where they fallin and break upon the Shore andmake it a bad landing.”

The Galapagos Islands

The following month the bucca-neers, having captured four ships,diverted their course towards theGalapagos Islands in order to avoidtrouble with the authorities inTrujillo (Peru), and Dampier’s shipplus one other “anchored on theEast-side of one of the Eastern-most Islands, a Mile from theshore, in sixteen Fathoms Water,clean, white, hard Sand”. Hebelieved, however, that the Englishhydrographers had not charted theislands’ location accurately, for hecommented:

“The Gallapagos Islands are agreat number of uninhabitedIslands, lying under and on bothsides of the Equator. The Eastern-most of them are about 110leagues from the Main. They arelaid down in the Longitude of 181,reaching to the Westward as faras 176, therefore their Longitudefrom England Westward is about68 degrees. But I believe ourHydrographers do not place themfar enough to the Westward. TheSpaniards who first discoveredthem, and in whose draughts alonethey are laid down, report them tobe a great number stretchingNorth-West from the Line, as faras 5 degrees N., but we saw nomore than 14 or 15. Some of themare 7 or 8 Leagues long, and 3 or 4broad.”

He noted that the islands were notexcessively hot even though theylay almost on the Equator, and alsoobserved a continual fresh sea-breeze all day. Perhaps he wasunwittingly aware of the effects ofthe yet undiscovered Peru (orHumboldt) Current that brings coldAntarctic waters northwards alongthe length of South America towash close to the GalapagosIslands before becoming part ofthe South Equatorial Current.

Local effects of strong solarheating

Dampier also made observationsof meteorological phenomenaalthough he probably did notunderstand the physics behindthem. While off the Pacific coastof Nicaragua in early August 1685,the buccaneers in an attempt onthe port that then served Leon, hadleft their ships manned by skeleton

crews, and Dampier accompanied520 men as they attempted topaddle 31 large canoes to theharbour “about eight Leagues fromshore” [in this case one league istaken to be the old English mea-surement equivalent to approxi-mately 2.2 km]. He says:

“We had fair Weather and littlewind till two o’clock in the After-noon, then we had a Tornado fromthe shore, with much Thunder,Lightning, Rain and such a gust ofWind that we were all likely to befoundered. In this extremity weput right before the Wind, everyCanoe’s Crew making what shiftthey could to avoid the threateningdanger…The fierceness of theWind continued about half an hourand abated by degrees, and as theWind died away, so the fury of theSea abated. For in all hot coun-tries, as I have observed, the Seais soon raised by the Wind and assoon down again when the Wind isgone. Therefore there is a Proverbamong Seamen: Up Wind, Up Sea,Down Wind, Down Sea.”

Even though the sea was like amillpond by the evening, thecanoes could not make land beforedarkness, and so they stayedoffshore, being about 10 km awayby daylight. Intending to stayoffshore until darkness once more,the buccaneers sat out the daylighthours in the tropical heat, butduring the afternoon they were hitby another tornado more fiercethan the one experienced duringthe previous afternoon.

In both cases the term ‘tornado’ istaken to mean a sudden localisedthunderstorm rather than either theland-based phenomenon that bears

William Dampier


the name today, or tropicalrevolving storms. The cause mightwell have been intense solarheating and consequent convec-tion which is a commontrigger for the formation ofthunderstorms around thetime of maximum tempera-tures, particularly in thetropics. Had Dampier beenable to carry a thermometerwith him in his travels, hemight have worked out forhimself the connectionbetween strong solarheating and the incidence oflocal storms, and perhapsthe buccaneers might havethought twice before commit-ting themselves to their long-distance paddle. However, theydid literally live to fight anotherday.

Orographic cloud

As with the aforementionedevents that Dampier obviouslycould not fully explain, he metwith a similar puzzle when henoted what we know asorographic clouds. Whilst the shipin which he travelled was in theNorth Pacific Ocean in May 1686searching for the island of Guamin order to find much-needed foodand water, hopes of a landfallwere raised when some light rainwas experienced, and he notedthat “… the Clouds settling in theWest were an apparent token thatwe were not far from Land.” Hehad watched how low cloudsparticularly seem to move quiterapidly, but that sometimes cloudsseen at the horizon do not move orchange very much and could beassociated with land. The

phenomenon was evidently ofinterest to him because he alsocomments “I have often takennotice of it, especially if it is high

Land, for then you shall have theClouds hang about it without anyvisible Motion.”

A typhoon, bioluminescenceand corposants

In June 1687, Dampier and his‘companions’ arrived at the “IslandPrata” [Dongshaondao, SouthChina Sea] where they stayed forabout five weeks. Although havinglittle understanding of meteorologyas a science, Dampier and theseamen of his day must have madeuse of a collective knowledgerelating to the occurrence ofparticular natural phenomena andtheir association with subsequentmeteorological events, and couldact accordingly. At the beginning ofJuly, Dampier had noted that thewind “had been whiffling aboutfrom one part of the Compass toanother for two or three Days, andsometimes it would be quite calm”;as such behaviour was often awarning of a ‘tempest’, the ship

was put to sea as a precaution.Sure enough, two days later thestorm arrived. Dampier’s journalreads:

“But the day ensuing,which was the 4th Day ofJuly, about Four o’clock inthe Afternoon, the Windcame to the N. andfreshened upon us. TheSky looked very black inthat quarter, and the blackClouds began to rise apaceand move towards us,having hung all theMorning on the Horizon.This made us take in ourTop-sails, and the Wind still

increasing, about Nine o’clockwe reefed our Main-sail and

Fore-sail. At Ten o’clock wefurled our Fore-sail, keeping undera Main-sail and Mizzen. AtEleven o’clock we furled ourMain-sail and ballasted [steadied]our Mizzen, at which time it beganto rain, and by Twelve o’clock atNight it blew exceeding hard, andthe Rain poured down as througha Sieve. It thundered andlightened prodigiously, and the Seaseemed all of a Fire about us, forevery Sea that broke sparkled likeLightning. The violent Wind raisedthe Sea presently to a greatheight, and it ran very short andbegan to break in on our Deck.”

He then describes how the seas“struck away the Rails of ourHead, and our Sheet-Anchor …was violently washed off, andwas likely to have struck a Holein our Bow, as it lay beatingagainst it.” The ship had to bemanoeuvred before the wind sothat the anchor could be retrieved,but conditions were then too

William Dampier

(R.A. Ketchington)


dangerous to turn back into it forfear of foundering, so the shipcontinued “scudding right beforeWind and Sea, from Two till Seveno’clock in the Morning [of 5July]…”

The wind decreased so the shipwas turned once more into thewind and sailed with only a mizzen,it then moderated further and a flatcalm of two hours followed, but thestorm blew up from the south-westaccompanied by very heavy rain,and Dampier’s ship was againforced to run before the windunder bare poles until the evening.The whole account appears toindicate a close encounter with anintense tropical depression, or evena typhoon.

During the morning (apparentlysome time after four o’clock) therain and thunder had abated, andthen St Elmos’s fire had been seen.This phenomenon seems to havebeen associated with either good‘omens’ or bad depending upon itslocation about the ship.

The journal reads:

“…and then we saw a CorpusSant at our Main-top-mast Head,on the very Top of the Truck of theSpindle. This sight rejoiced ourMenexceedingly, for the height of theStorm is commonly over when theCorpus Sant is seen aloft. Butwhen they are seen lying on theDeck, it is generally accounted abad Sign.

“A Corpus Sant is a certain smallglittering Light. When it appears,as this did, on the very Top of theMain-mast or at a Yard-arm, it is

like a Star. But when it appears onthe Deck, it resembles a greatGlow-worm… I have heard someignorant Seamen discoursing howthey have seen them creep, or, asthey say, travel about in theScuppers, telling many dismalStories that happened at suchtimes. But I never saw any onestir out of the place where it wasfirst fixed, except upon Deck,where every Sea washes it about.Nor did I ever see any exceptwhen we have had hard Rain aswell as Wind, and I thereforebelieve it is some Jelly: … ”

The illustration shows ashipwreck, storm and corposants(from Meteorologiaphilospohico-politica, FranzWeiner (1661–1708) NOAACentral Library) and corposantscan be seen on yard-arms. There

seem to be two sources orvarieties of the phenomenon inDampier’s account, but perhapsonly one of them (that associatedwith the mast and yard-arms) isreally the static electrical type.The form that is mentioned asbeing washed around the deck orin the scuppers might have beenan organism(s) such as jellyfishwhich have often been reporteddisplaying luminescence bymodern seafarers, or perhaps apyrosoma (a hollow cylindricalcolony of individual organismsswimming as a single entity, andbrightly luminescent). If such werewashed on board in heavy seas,they would no doubt continue toshow this light as they were tossedabout on their way back to thescuppers, or else whilst slidingabout on a wet deck. In darknesstheir true animal form would not


William Dampier


be seen and it is supposed thatthey could have been interpretedas corposants (“Glow-worm”) ondeck. In the first part ofDampier’s observation, the seasthat were “all of a Fire” and that“sparkled like Lightning” mightwell have been a manifestation ofbioluminescence too, probablycaused by dinoflagellates at thesurface.

A waterspout

Waterspouts were no doubt asfrequent an occurrence in theseventeenth century as they arein the twenty-first, and modernseafarers will find much that isfamiliar in Dampier’sobservation of this phenomenon,in the Celebes Sea on 30November,1687.

“A Spout is a small ragged pieceof Cloud hanging downseemingly about a Yard from theblackest part of it. Commonly ithangs down sloping, orsometimes appears with a smallbending or elbow in the middle. Inever saw any hangperpendicularly down. It is smallat the lower end, seemingly nobigger than one’s Arm, but stillfuller towards the Cloud fromwhere it proceeds. When theSurface of the Sea begins to work,you shall see the Water for about100 Paces in Circumference foamand move gently round till thewhirling Motion increases. Andthen it flies upwards in a Pillarabout 100 Paces in Compass atthe bottom, but lessening graduallyupwards to the smallness of thespout itself, until it reaches thelower end of the Spout, through

which the rising Seawater seemsto be conveyed into the Clouds.This visibly appears by the Cloud’sincreasing in bulk and blackness.Then you shall presently see theCloud drive along, although before,it seemed to be without anyMotion. The Spout keeps the sameCourse as the Cloud, and stillsucking up Water as it goes along,they make a Wind as they go.Thus it continues for the space of

half an Hour, more or less, untilthe sucking is spent. Then,breaking off, all the Water whichwas below the Spout, or pendulouspiece of Cloud, falls down againinto the Sea, making a great Noisewith its fall, and a clashing Motionin the Sea.”

Waterspouts are not a significant

problem for modern seafarers, andare often reported upon in ships’meteorological logbooks as aninteresting diversion, but they wereconsidered a threat to sailing ships,and Dampier’s like others, waskept at a great a distance aspossible from them. Not withoutreason apparently, for he knew (orhad been told) of an event where aship had received what might becalled a ‘direct hit’ from a water-

spout and had lost not only itsbowsprit but the foremast andmizzen mast too. One methodby which it was thoughtpossible to weaken a water-spout that could not be avoidedby a ship was to fire deck gunsinto it. However, Dampier isdismissive of such efforts —“But I never heard that itproved to be of any Benefit”.

The halo

Optical phenomena can beseen approximately one day inthree if the observer is keenenough not to look towards thesun or moon alone and issuitably placed to cast an eyearound other parts of the sky.Nevertheless, haloes remainthe most frequently reported

examples of phenomena causedby the passage of light through icecrystals in cirriform clouds. Cirruscloud invading the sky is often thefirst sign of an approachingdepression, and so in Dampier’sday it is understandable that thehalo was seen as a precursor tobad weather. Strangely, moreimportance was placed on theappearance of a solar halo than ofone around the moon.

(R. J. Fletcher)

William Dampier


On 18 May 1688, Dampier and hisconsorts were navigating from theNicobar Islands towards Sumatra.In his journal he wrote of the halo:

“It was indifferent clear till Noonand we thought to have had anObservation, but we werehindered by the Clouds thatcovered the Face of the Sun whenit came on the Meridian. We alsothen had a very ill Presage, by agreat Circle about the Sun five orsix times the Diameter of it, whichseldom appears without storms ofWind or much Rain ensuing. SuchCircles about the Moon are morefrequent but of less import. Wecommonly take great notice ofthose that are about the Sun,observing if there is any breach inthe Circle, and in what Quarter theBreach is. From there wecommonly find the greatest Stressof the Wind will come. I mustconfess that I was a little anxiousat the Sight of this Circle, andwished heartily that we were nearsome Land.”

A violent storm indeed followed,and it was bad enough forDampier to believe that his endwas imminent. He did survive,however, but no doubt he contin-ued to regard the appearance of asolar halo with considerableapprehension.

Epilogue

Unknown to Dampier at the timeof the search for Guam, in May1686, the vessel had narrowlyavoided a mutiny — or worse.

The ship had been at sea for abouttwo months and supplies were solow that the daily ration for eachman was 10 spoons of boiledmaize, and there was enough leftfor only three more days. He wasto learn later that had the islandnot been found, then the crew haddecided to kill the captain whenthe food had run out, and eat himfollowed by everybody who hadsanctioned the voyage to theoriginal destination of thePhilippines.

Such a grisly end would havedeprived later generations of hisvaluable contributions. As ithappened, he eventually returnedto England in 1691, and died inLondon in 1715 at the age of 63.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Dr Frank Evans(Dove Marine Observatory) andProfessor Peter Herring(Southampton OceanographyCentre) for their help and advicewith ‘Red Lobsters’ and ‘Atyphoon (?), bioluminescence andcorposants’.

William Dampier

References

Dampier, W.,:A New VoyageRound the World: The Journal ofan English Bucanneer. (Firstpublished in1697, latest reprint byhummingbird press, 1998.).

Horsman, P. V., 1985: TheSeafarer’s Guide to Marine Life.United States National Oceanic &Atmospheric Administration(NOAA).Website:www.photolib.noaa.gov/library.

Editors Note:

WOW! what an adventure...Thisgreat story was written for andfirst published in the October2001 issue of the UK MetOffice’s Marine Observer. Whowould have imagined that bysailing the seven seas in searchof adventure and a few pieces ofeight, your name would be listedin the annals of science for yourgreat exploration anddiscoveries. -- Luke


Awareness can be asimportant as preventionwhen navigating a vessel

through a storm, and the bestmethod of awareness is througheducation and knowledge.

The National Centers forEnvironmental Prediction’s(NCEP) Marine Prediction Center(MPC) and the Maritime Instituteof Technology and GraduateStudies (MITAGS) have teamedup to embark on a maiden voyageto provide marine weatherforecast instruction – usingNational Weather Service (NWS)official products – and to worktogether on projects of mutualinterest designed for professionalmariners. Also, MPC will workwith MITAGS to identify andraise the standards of training onweather related courses foradvanced maritime safety.MITAGS is a non-profitcontinuing education center forprofessional mariners thatprovides training to civilian andmilitary mariners from around theglobe.

This agreement marks the firstorganizational partnership forMPC and adheres to two NCEPstrategic goals – to exerciseglobal leadership and to forgestronger bonds with NWSpartners and users. “This is amajor step in realizing MPC’svision to be the mariners weather

lifeline,” said Dr. James Hoke,director of the MPC. “Workingwith MITAGS offers a greatopportunity for MPC to be indirect contact with our primaryusers to get feedback and ideason how to keep MPC their firstchoice for marine weatherinformation.”

Glen Paine, Executive Director ofMITAGS, stated that “Thispartnership allows us toreemphasize the mariner’s needfor accurate and timely weatherinformation and the requirementfor the skills to apply thatinformation. As we have seen inthe past, weather informationcorrectly applied greatly reducesthe impact adverse weather canhave on a crew and its vessel.We at MITAGS look forward toour interaction with the NationalWeather Service.”

The MPC is one of nine NCEPcenters located in Camp Springs,MD. MPC issues forecasts andwarnings for regional, offshore

and high sea areas of the Atlanticand Pacific Oceans. Operatingseven days a week, 24 hours aday, the MPC forecasts andanalyzes sea conditions such aswind, wave, fog and ice accretionand issues sea surfacetemperature products. The centeralso produces marine forecasts inresponse to emergency situationsidentified by NOAA, the NWSRegional Offices, the FederalEmergency Management Agencyand the U.S. Coast Guard Searchand Rescue. MPC works closelywith the Tropical PredictionCenter and the Weather ForecastOffices in Anchorage andHonolulu to providedcomprehensive coverage of theAtlantic and Pacific Oceans aswell as the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information aboutMITAGS, MPC or NCEP visitthe World Wide Web sites:www.mitags.org,www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov, andwww.ncep.noaa.gov,respectively.

Marine Prediction Center Sets Sail on First Alliance

Pictured on left:MPC Chief ofOperations DavidFeit; MPC DeputyDirector KevinMcCarthy; MPCDirector JamesHoke; MITAGSExecutive DirectorGlen Pain; andMITAGS Directorof Training, WaltMegonicgal.

MPC Sets Sail on First Alliance


VOS Climate Project

The VOS Climate Project

UK Met. Office

Introduction

Final preparations for the Volun-tary Observing Ships (VOS)Climate Project are now complete,and initial recruitment of participat-ing ships has begun.The following article provides anoverview of the objectives of theproject, its status, and how it isintended to operate.

Background

The project is a natural extensionof the earlier Voluntary SpecialObserving Programme for theNorth Atlantic (VSOP –NA)1,which demonstrated that thequality of observed measurementsdepends significantly upon thetypes of instruments used, theirexposures, and the observingpractices of shipboard personnel.It made a number of substantiverecommendations in these areasaimed at providing ship observa-tions of a quality appropriate toglobal climate studies.

Objectives

Whilst VOS observations continueto be an essential ingredient fornumerical weather prediction,there is a growing need for higherquality data from the observingfleet. Specifically, recent trends,such as the increasing availabilityof data from satellite sensors and

the increased concern with regardto climate analysis and prediction,are making further demands on thequality of ship observations.

The project aims to provide a high-quality subset of marine meteoro-logical data, available in both realtime and in delayed mode, whichcan be used for:

·Satellite ground truth verifica-tion

An important role for accurateVOS data is the detection ofbiases in remotely sensed satellitedata due to instrument calibrationchanges or changing atmospherictransmission conditions. Ship andbuoy observations can, for ex-ample, be used to detect andcorrect biases in satellite datacaused by varying atmosphericaerosol loading due to volcaniceruptions. Without such real timebias corrections, errors can occurin satellite-derived data. Conse-quently, for satellite verificationpurposes, there is an establishedneed for a dataset of accurate shipobservations with known errorcharacteristics.

Climate Change Studies

Data from observing ships areincreasingly being used for climatechange studies, e.g., to quantifyglobal changes of sea-surface and

marine air temperature. However,the detection of climate trends isonly practicable if, as far as ispossible, observational biasesowing to the changing methods ofobservation are corrected. Seatemperature data, for example,have different bias errors, depend-ing on whether temperatures wereobtained using wooden, rubber orcanvas buckets, or using engineroom intake thermometers. It istherefore important to clearlydocument the observing practicesthat are being used on board ships.

Climate Research and ClimatePrediction

Increasingly, coupled numericalmodels of the atmosphere andocean are being used for climateresearch and climate changeprediction. The simulated air-seafluxes of heat, water and momen-tum must therefore be shown tobe realistic if there is to be confi-dence in model predictions.Accordingly, model predictions ofnear surface meteorologicalvariables (air temperature, humid-ity, sea-surface temperature(SST), etc.) need to be verifiedagainst high-quality in situ obser-vations from buoys and speciallyselected voluntary observing ships.

In addition to the above, theproject will provide a referencedata set that can be used to assess


the quality of data received fromthe rest of the voluntary observingfleet.

Ship selection and recruitment

Ship recruitment is a criticalcomponent of the project, and it ishoped that the ships selected willprovide more or less global cover-age in both space and time. To thisend, ships which make frequentand regular ocean crossings, aswell as ships sailing in the southernocean, Antarctic supply vesselsand research ships, have beenidentified as potential recruits.Where feasible it has also beendecided that ships engaged in theShip of Opportunity Programmeand the Automated ShipboardAerological Programme should berecruited.

A relatively small target of ~200ships has been set for recruitmentto the project, and provisional listsof participating ships have beenprepared by Australia, Canada,France, Germany, India, Japan,Poland, UK and USA. Severalother countries are also potentialproject participants, and it isanticipated that the target numberof ships should be achieved.

The UK is aiming to recruitapproximately 30 observing shipsto the project, with emphasis beinggiven to those ships which rou-tinely return to the UK, have agood observing record, and arepreferably fitted with hull sensorsand the Royal Netherlands Meteo-rological Institute’s TurboWinsoftware. The selected vessels willbe drawn from those operating

both on world-wide and nearcontinental voyages and willinclude some research vesselsproviding observations in datasparse areas. Figure 1 shows theextent of coverage expected fromUK voluntary observing ships,whilst Figure 2 indicates theprojected global coverage.

These preliminary maps showingthe potential route coverage of theproposed project ships have beenprepared by Southampton Ocean-ography Centre, who have beenactively involved in setting up theproject. Such maps will assist inplanning national recruitment andwill also allow the selectivetargeting of obvious data sparseareas as recruitment proceeds.

Data Assembly Centre

Data collected during the projectwill undergo quality control (QC)and be archivedby a Data Assembly Centre

(DAC). The National ClimaticData Center, NOAA, USA, hasagreed to perform this role whichrequires them to merge the real-time observation reports with thedelayed mode reports, eliminateany duplicates, and compile acomplete project data set whichwill be available to users.

The DAC will also create andmaintain a relational database sothat the information on instrumenttypes, exposure and observingpractice can be automaticallyassociated with each observation.The database will also be freelyaccessible to registered users.

Real Time Monitoring Centre

The project will require real timemonitoring of the observationaldata and comparison with modelfields. To this end, the Met Office(which already undertakes suchmonitoring of ship observations ona routine basis), has agreed to act

Figure 1 - Extent of coverage anticipated from UK voluntary observing shipsparticipating in the VOS Climate Project. (Courtesy of SouthamptonOceanography Centre.)

VOS Climate Project


as Real Time Monitoring Centre(RTMC) for the project.

Priority will be given to the follow-ing six parameters: wind directionand speed; sea level pressure; sea-surface temperature; air tempera-ture; and humidity. The Met Officewill monitor these variables for allproject ships and forward theresultant statistics to the DAC forinclusion on a dedicated projectWeb site.

Statistics on the ‘fit ’of the ob-served variables to the numericalweather prediction Global Model’sbackground forecasts will be usedto produce lists of ‘suspect’ ships,i.e., ships will be flagged assuspect if the mean and standarddeviations of their observation-minus-background (o-b) valuesmeet certain agreed criteria. Listsof flagged ships will be forwardedby the RTMC to the DAC eachmonth, and to participating coun-tries on a weekly and monthly

basis. As ships’call signs aresubject to change when there arechanges in registry, it will benecessary for the RTMC toregularly check call signs to ensurethe correct ships are being moni-tored.

Any project ships identified ashaving submitted suspect observa-tions will be followed up by thePort Met. Officer networks asquickly as possible, and the resultsof any corrective action takenthereafter notified to the DAC.

In addition to the monitoringfunction, the RTMC will extractthe six observed variables for eachproject ship received in real timefrom the Global Telecommunica-tion System (GTS) and associatethem with the co-located modelfield values. The resultant datasets will then be transferred on aregular basis to the Data AssemblyCentre.

Instruments

Although relevant, the quality ofships observing instruments hasless effect upon the quality of datathan their use and exposure. It willtherefore be essential for theproject to ensure that observinginstruments, their physical expo-sure, and the associated observingpractices confirm to high stan-dards and that up-to-date instru-ment records are maintained andcatalogued.

Ideally, it is recommended thatships taking part in the projectshould have the following instru-mentation and facilities:

• Accurate and well-exposedthermometers with precision to0.1 °C;

• Sea surface temperature mea-suring instruments from hullcontact sensors;

• Permanently-mounted, well-exposed anemometers to 0.1 m s-1 precision;

• Precision marine barometers to0.1 hPa precision, preferablyconnected to a static head; and

• Electronic logbook facility, toinclude true wind computation,QC checks and updated encod-ing in the revised code formsrequired by the project.

It is recognized, however, thatcommon instrumentation is unlikelyto be achieved. For instance, UKobserving ships traditionally

VOS Climate Project

Figure 2 – Project global coverage of ships taking part in the VOS ClimateProject [(drawn from raw reports from the Global Telecommunication Sys-tem (GTS) using data from November 1999 to October 2000), downloadedfrom http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/ncep_obs/]


estimate the wind speed anddirection from the sea state andare not provided with calibratedanemometers.

Regular checks upon the service-ability and calibration of instru-ments by Port Met. Officers willbe essential to the project, e.g.,calibration of temperature sensorscan be performed using a waterbath, and it is possible to calibratesome types of wind speed sensorby mechanically rotating thepropeller.

Inter-comparison of instruments isa difficult and time-consumingtask; it is possible to comparetypical samples of each type orsource of manufacture, but oftenvariations between members ofthe same type are greater thanbetween different instruments.This problem will be addressed byinter-comparison of the observa-tions of the VOS climate subsetwith large-scale model fields, orwith neighbouring ships at sea. Ata later stage in the project devel-opment, it is expected that consid-eration will be given to enhancingor upgrading participating shipinstrumentation as necessary, inline with VSOP –NA recommen-dations.

Metadata

To achieve the accuracy requiredby the project, it will be essential tohave comprehensive informationabout the type and location ofmeteorological instruments. Thiswill include information of the dateof any changes to instruments anddetails of their exposures sup-

ported by digital imagery. Detailsof such ‘metadata ’ will be storedin a master index of ships whichwill be developed as a supplementto, but separate from, the mainWMO ship catalogue (Interna-tional List of Voluntary ObservingShips WMO –No.47.) The cata-logue will be continuously updatedand made available through theData Assembly Centre. It willcontain details of the instrumentlocations for each ship in anagreed format, together withdetails of the results of inspectionsperformed by Port Met. Officers.

Port Met. Officer involvement

The Port Met. Officer networks ofparticipating countries will beessential for the project’s success,as close liaison with ships’ mas-ters, observing officers and shipowners will be needed. PMOs will,in the first instance, visit individualships to explain the project toobservers and to assess their likelycommitment to the project. Theywill also record details of theexposure of the observing instru-ments, noting any permanentstructural features which mightaffect the observation, e.g., wateroutfalls, airflow obstructions, air-conditioning vents, etc., and therelevant ship specifications. Inaddition to detailed written descrip-tions, the location of instrumentswill be marked on simple arrange-ment drawings and supported byphotographs in digital format.

Final selection of ships will takenote of existing instrumentationand exposure, past performance,and the general impression gained

by the Port Met. Officers. Diffi-culties may arise where a ship iswell equipped for one parameterbut not another, e.g., no anemom-eter, but mounting a hull sensor forsea-surface temperature. Thevalue of the ship’s contribution willbe assessed in terms of theimportance of the parameterswhich are acceptable.

The information obtained byPMOs for selected ships will beforwarded to the Data AssemblyCentre for compilation of themetadata catalogue. PMOs willalso explain the use of new codingrequirements and new logbooks(electronic or hard copy) beingdeveloped for the project. Latervisits will be needed to check thatinstrument exposure has notchanged and to discuss anyproblems with observers. Theseobserver ‘contact’visits will beextremely important in maintainingthe interest of the observers andthe impetus of the project.

Ship survey and inspection forms

Special ship recruitment andinspection report forms are beingdesigned for the project and will bemade available in French, Russianand Spanish versions. The forms,together with associated instruc-tions, will be downloadable fromthe new project Web site and willbe suitable for use in both hardcopy and electronic format.

Immediately following recruitmentto the project, Port Met. Officerswill complete the initial ship surveyreport form. Each recruitingcountry’s PMOs will conduct

VOS Climate Project


follow-up ship inspection visitswhen project ships are visitingtheir home ports, as far as possibleon a quarterly basis (the currentUK practice). Some ships not onregular trades may also need to beinspected by their participating (i.e.non-recruiting) countries, and carewill be needed to ensure there isno duplication of inspections. Inorder to establish a completemetadata and inspection history foreach ship, the completed inspec-tion reports will be submitted to theDAC via e-mail.

Observation codes

To ensure that the project providestimely and complete informationand that no reports from participat-ing ships are lost, data will besubmitted in both real time anddelayed mode. Although real timeobservations will continue to betransmitted in the Ships’ Interna-tional Meteorological Code (FM13–XI), the delayed mode observa-tions will be augmented by addi-tional code groups. These extracodes are essential to the successof the project and comprise detailsspecific to each ship. (Refer toShip Parameters chart).

Originally, the intention had been torequire these additional codegroups in both real time anddelayed mode. However, proposalsto modify the ship code were notsupported by WMO because oftheir long-term ambition to phaseout the use of such alphanumericcodes in favour of new table-driven codes (e.g. BUFR2 andCREX3 codes).

Recognizing that it would beimpractical to re-train observers touse complex new code forms intime for the start of the project, itwas decided that the additionalcode groups were not absolutelyessential in real time, provided thatthe expected delay in the non-realtime data delivery did not exceed 6–12 months.

To enable the international ex-change of the extended observa-tion reports in delayed mode, arevised version of the InternationalMaritime Meteorological TapeCode (IMMT) has also beendeveloped for the project.

Paper and electronic logbooks

Observations will be recorded fordelayed mode submission using

either hard copy or electroniclogbooks. In order to collect andprocess the additional delayedmode observation data in hardcopy format it will be necessary toeither implement new logbooks (orlogsheets), or to modify existingones. Similarly, new versions ofelectronic logbook softwareprograms (e.g. TurboWin, SEAS2000 etc.) are being developed toincorporate the additional delayedmode data. The logbooks (orlogsheets) will need to be collectedon a regular basis by PortMet.Officers, who will alsodownload the electronic log files.

The use of software programssuch as TurboWin will greatlysimplify the collection of delayedmode data required by the project,as they will electronically recordthe observations in the revisedIMMT format at source. Thisavoids the need for observations tobe manually digitised followingreceipt at participating nationalmeteorological services, which ispresently the case for paperlogbooks. For that reason, it ishoped to equip the majority of UKships participating in the projectwith such software, either loadedinto dedicated ‘notebook’ comput-ers or, if acceptable, loaded intoone of the ships’ computers.

Data Transmission

Observational and instrumentationdata submitted by project ships willbe subjected to various proceduresand relayed via a number ofcentres before it eventuallyreaches the Data AssemblyCenter. A simplified flow diagram

VOS Climate Project


showing the data will be routed isgiven in Figure 3.

The national meteorologicalservices participating in the projectwill apply minimum QC proce-dures to the digitised observationsin the revised IMMT format. Thedigital data sets will then beforwarded to the two GlobalCollecting Centres (GCCs) for theWMO Marine ClimatologicalSummaries Scheme (located inHamburg in Germany and inBracknell in the UK). The GCCswill thereafter apply their normalQC and related procedures andforward the data to the DataAssembly Centre in IMMT format(using an appropriate medium, orvia the Internet) with a minimumdelay.

The Met Office, in its capacity asthe RTMC, will also transferdatasets of the real time reportsand associated model field valuesto the Data Assembly Centre. Asthis data will be transmitted inBUFR code (which is now re-garded as the preferred standardfor the international distribution ofweather data) decoding softwarewill be needed in order that theDAC can merge the received realtime and delayed mode reports andcompile a complete project dataset.

Project promotion literatureand logo

Draft literature to promote theproject, and an associated logo forthe project have been developed.The logo will, in due course,appear on a plaque that will be

presented to participating ships.The promotional literature willinclude a small explanatorybrochure that will be madeavailable to participating shippingcompanies and officers, and willbe available in multi-lingualformat. As the project unfolds,observers will inevitably havequestions about why the additionalobservations are needed andabout how they will be used. The

brochure will therefore addressthese points, and a copy of thebrochure is included at the end ofthis article.

Project Web Site

The primary means of informationexchange for the project will bevia a dedicated Web site whichwill be both developed and main-tained by the DAC, with contribu-

VOS Climate Project

Figure 3 - Simplified flow diagram showing therouteing of data for the VOS Climate Project.


tions to be made by both partici-pants and users. Information to bemade available through the Website will include:• metadata catalogue of partici-

pating ships;• regular project update reports;• monitoring and data application

results;• project newsletter for partici-

pating ships;• data catalogues;• links to other relevant Web

sites;• project focal points and other

relevant contact details;• the project document and other

publications; and• any other information relevant

to the project.Access to the ship metadatacatalogue will be via the shipname, call sign or IMO number,which will then allow selection ofany required subsets of ships’instruments, etc. This cataloguewill also allow access to shipstatus reports, with links to theobservational data and monitoringreports.

The project data (observations,metadata, real time monitoringdata and the additional observa-tional data) will also have a directaccess through the Web site forftp download. Similarly, shipsurvey and inspection forms(including instructions for theircompletion) will be available fromthe Web site for download. Somepassword protection to guardagainst abuse and to safeguardpotentially sensitive information isanticipated.

Project newsletter

A project newsletter is alsoconsidered to be an essentialcomponent of the project, provid-ing a means of informing andcommunicating with participatingships as well as among meteoro-logical services, data centres,users and other participants. It ishoped that it will help to maintaininterest and enthusiasm amongobservers, regularly informingthem of the status of the project ingeneral, and of their own specificcontributions.

The newsletter will containinformation, reports and statisticson participating ships together withinformation drawn from all partici-pants, including the Port Met.Officers, participating ship opera-tors, the RTMC, the DAC and theships’ crews themselves wheneverpossible. It will be issued biannu-ally and edited by the WMOSecretariat. It will be madeavailable on the project Web site ina suitable format to allow down-loading by participating operatorsfor printing and distribution toships.

The future benefits

The potential benefits of theproject are clear. For the shippingindustry, it will encourage thedevelopment of new marinemeteorological systems, which willresult in improved marine weatherforecasts and real time weatherinformation for operational pur-poses. Moreover, the improvedquality of ship observational datawill help us to better understand

VOS Climate Project

the large-scale weather changesassociated with climate change.

The success of this ambitiousproject will therefore dependupon the close involvement andco-operation of the nationalmeteorological services, the PortMet. Officer networks and, ofcourse, the ships’ voluntaryobservers. It will require carefulmanagement if it is to achieve theaim of developing into a long-term, operational programme.

References

Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS)Climate Subset Project(VOSCLIM)Project Document.JCOMM Technical Report No 5 –WMO/TD No.1010Final report of the VOS ClimateProject. .Second Project Meeting,Asheville N.C.,USA,30 October-1November 20001 See The Mariner Observer,January 1992, 242 Binary Universal Form for theRepresentation of meteor logicaldata (FM94 –XI Ext.BUFR)3 Character form for the Repre-sentation and EXchange of data(FM95 –XI Ext.CREX.

Editors Note:

This original article was firstprinted in the April 2001 issueof the Marine Observer.Permission to re-print thisarticle with updates has beenauthorized by the UK METOFFICE.


VOS Climate Project


This satellite image (right) wascaptured onboard EUMETSAT’sgeostationary satelliteMETEOSAT VII at 12h00 UTCon Tuesday 07 May 2002.

The cloud mass centredapproximately 150 nautical milessouth-east of East Londonrepresents a deep secondaryvortex which developed rapidlyovernight on the eastern AgulhasBank. The primary vortex isclearly visible further offshorewith its frontal band spiralling infrom the southern MozambiqueChannel.

Of all the numerical modelsavailable to the South AfricanWeather Service, not oneaccurately analysed the secondarysystem. As a result, it wasexpected that both winds andwaves would be under-forecastoff South Africa’s east coast. Buthow to quantify this ?

Fortunately the Sealand Voyager(KHRK) provided invaluableobservations at both 06 and 12h00UTC as she journeyed southwardsoff the Transkei coast. Her 06h00observation (including a 55-knot

southwesterly wind) helpedanalysts to gauge the depth of thenew low. By 12h00 she wasestimating the wind wavecomponent at 10 m and the swellat 9 m. (An abnormal wavewarning for the Agulhas Currenthad been issued the previous dayand was still in force.)

Some comments and a heartfeltplea :

• KHRK was the only shipobservation all daybetween Durban andCape Town (a distance ofsome 800 nm). Althoughthis is a major sea route,this scarcity of shipobservations around theSouthern African coast isby no means unusual. Interms of tanker trafficalone, the Cape SeaRoute carries over 10%of the world’s sea-borneoil trade.

• Land-based winds,particularly around thiscoast in winter arenotoriously non-representative ofconditions offshore.

• Satellites are not the beall and end all. Cloudimagery is not alwayseasy to quantify, andsatellite-derived winds areby no means alwaysavailable.

PLEASE - WE NEED YOUR‘OBS’.

As can be seen from the aboveexample, VOS data can still havea marked impact on the accuracyof marine predictions – and thusmaritime safety.

Attention Ship Owners, Ship Operators andNavigation Officers

Ian T HunterManager, Marine ServicesSouth African Weather Service

South African Weather Service


Marine Weather Review

Marine Weather ReviewNorth Atlantic AreaSeptember through December 2001George P. Bancroft

Figure 1 - GOES-8 enhanced infrared satellite image of Hurricane Erin valid 1515 UTC September 10,2001. Colder, higher cloud tops such as in the central dense overcast and spiral cloud bands around thecenter or “eye” of Erin appear near 35°N 65°W.

Introduction

From September throughNovember, low-pressure systemstracked northeast from theCanadian Maritimes to the vicinityof Greenland and Iceland beforeturning east. With the exception oflate September and early October,high pressure of varying strengthwas present off the coast ofwestern Europe. By earlyDecember the high pressureshifted to the British Isles and

strengthened, forcing low-pressuresystems moving off the U.S. EastCoast and the Maritimes to turnnorth or even northwest towardGreenland and the Davis Strait.

There was considerable tropicalcyclone activity during the firstthree months, with eight namedsystems either moving into orforming in MPC’s waters north of31°N. and west of 35°N. Three ofthese were of subtropical origin,forming from cut-off occluded

lows in the far southern MPCwaters. The others either movedaround the west and north sides ofthe subtropical ridge andweakened, were absorbed by, orbecame extratropical lows (thosefound outside the tropics, typicallyassociated with fronts).

Tropical Activity

Hurricane Erin: Erin, the firsthurricane of the Atlantic season,moved northwest into MPC’s



waters just east of Bermuda onthe morning of September 9 andattained a peak intensity withmaximum sustained winds of 105kt with gusts to 130 kt near33.3°N. 63.3°W. at 0000 UTCSeptember 10. Erin was thestrongest tropical cyclone to affectMPC’s waters during this season.Figure 1 is an enhanced infraredsatellite image of Erin, still nearmaximum strength about 15 hourslater, with a well-defined “eye.”Erin subsequently turned northeastand weakened before re-intensifying as an extratropicalstorm by 0000 UTC September 16(Figure 2). As the center passedto the west, the seas at Buoy44141 (42°N. 56°W.) jumped from3.5 meters (11 ft) to 9.5 meters(31 ft) during the 10-hour periodending at 1000 UTC September14. The maximum wind reportedby a ship was a southwest wind of45 kt from the SeaLand Pride(WDA3673) near 36°N. 61°W. at0000 UTC September 13. Buoy44140 (43.7°N. 51.8°W.) reporteda southwest wind of 35 kt with6.5-m seas (22 ft) at 2100 UTCSeptember 14. The system isshown at maximum intensity as anextratropical storm in the secondpart of Figure 2. The QuikScatimage in Figure 3 is valid about 7.5hours later, indicating winds of 50kt or higher south and southeast ofCape Farewell, with even some 70kt wind barbs. The stormsubsequently passed east ofGreenland and weakened on the16th.

Hurricane Felix: Like Erin, Felixmoved into MPC’s waters as ahurricane, shown in Figure 2.

Unlike Erin, Felix peaked instrength while south of 31°N., wasin a slow weakening trend, andfollowed a more east-northeasttrack while in MPC’s area. Thecenter passed east of 35°W. by0600 UTC September beforeweakening to a tropical storm near35°N. 31°W. at 1200 UTCSeptember 17. At that time, theship C6PW2 reported a northeastwind of 35 kt and 7-m seas (23 ft)near 38°N. 34°W. A high-pressure ridge east and north ofthe center halted further eastwardprogress at that time. At 0600UTC September 19 the systemweakened to a remnant low near35°N. 31°W.

Hurricane Gabrielle: Figure2,shows Tropical Storm Gabriellemoving on a northeast tracktoward MPC’s offshore waters.At 0000 UTC September 16 theLykes Discoverer (WGXO)near 32°N. 80°W. reported anorth wind of 50 kt and 8-m seas(27 ft). The Discoverer was oneof several ships reporting winds of50 kt west and northwest of thecenter through 1200 UTCSeptember 16. Frying PanShoals (FPSN7) at 33.5°N.77.5°W. reported a north wind of45 kt at 1800 UTC September 15.Winds reached 35 kt from thenortheast at Buoy 41004 (32.5°N.79.1°W.), along with seas to 4.5meters (15 ft) at 0600 UTCSeptember 16. Gabrielle thenintensified to a hurricane near33°N. 71°W. at 0000 UTCSeptember 17 and developedmaximum sustained winds of 70 ktwith gusts to 85 kt near 35°N.67°W. twelve hours later, before

beginning to weaken. Gabriellebecame an extratropical stormnear 43°N. 55°W. at 0600 UTCSeptember 19 with a 976-mbcentral pressure. The shipMZGK7 near 46°N. 42°W.encountered south winds of 55 kteighteen hours later. The systemcontinued to move northeast andre-intensified east of Labrador. BySeptember 22, it had weakenedeast of Greenland and turnedsoutheast.

Hurricane Humberto:Humberto entered MPC’sforecast area near 31°N. 68°W. at1200 UTC September 23 as astrong tropical storm and becamea hurricane six hours later whilecontinuing to move north at about10 kt. The maximum strength wasreached at 1200 UTC September26 near 41°N. 59°W., withmaximum sustained winds of 90 ktand gusts to 110 kt. The systemthen turned east and weakened toan extratropical gale near 41°N.42°W. at 0000 UTC September28. At that time the ship PGBOsouth of the center near 39°N.40°W. reported southwest windsof 35 kt and 5-m seas (17 ft).

Hurricane Karen: Karen beganas a frontal wave of low pressurethat underwent initial rapidintensifcation in the 24-hour periodending at 0000 UTC October 12.Figure 4 depicts the system as anintense occluded cyclone, which,after initial weakening, re-intensified while losing its frontalstructure. The Tropical PredictionCenter (TPC) classified it as asubtropical storm (Figure 4)before naming it Tropical Storm


Figure 5

Figure 2 - MPC North Atlantic surface analysis charts valid 1800 UTC September 14 and 0000 UTC September16, 2001.




Karen at 1200 UTC October 13.Figure 5 is a QuikScat image validabout the time of the first analysisin Figure 4, showing winds to 60 kton the backside of the system.Figure 6 is a satellite image validat 2215 UTC October 13 showingKaren with indications of a centralarea or ring of convection aroundan “eye.” Karen was upgraded toa hurricane shortly before thattime. At 0600 UTC October 14Karen reached peak intensity near

39°N. 64°W., with maximumsustained winds of 70 kt and guststo 85 kt, before weakening to anextratropical gale over theCanadian Maritimes on October15 and continuing to move north.

Tropical Storm Lorenzo:Lorenzo moved northwest to aposition near 31°N. 46°W. at 1200UTC October 30 before turning tothe north-northeast and was only aminimal tropical storm with

maximum sustained winds of 35 ktand gusts to 45 kt. Lorenzo thenbecame extratropical and mergedwith an approaching cold front onOctober 31.

Hurricane Noel: Thedevelopment of Noel was similarto that of Karen. Low pressuredeveloped on a northeast tosouthwest oriented front near35°N. 43°W. early on November1 and drifted southwest before

Figure 3 -High-resolution QukScat scatterometer winds valid at 0736 UTC September 16, 2001. Theresolution of the wind barbs is 12.5 km, versus 25 km in regular QuikScat imagery. Image iscourtesy of NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications.


Figure 4 - MPC North Atlantic surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 0000 UTC and 1200UTC October 12, and 0000 UTC October 13 and 14, 2001. The time interval betweencharts is 12 hours, except 24 hours between the third and fourth charts.




turning northwest and intensifyingto an occluded storm analyzedwith 984-mb central pressure near34°N. 50°W. at 1800 UTCNovember 3. The system thendrifted north and weakened to agale at 1200 UTC November 4(Figure 7), before re-intensifyingand developing tropicalcharacteristics such as persistentconvective clouds near the center(Figure 8). Based on a report of asouthwest wind of 65 kt from the

ship Tellus (WRYG) near 37°N.50°W. at 1400 UTC November 5,TPC upgraded the system toHurricane Noel in a 1600 UTCNovember 5 advisory. Six hourslater the ship ELRT2 near 36°N.48°W. encountered southwestwinds of 35 kt and 8-m seas (27ft). The system weakened to atropical storm near 40°N. 50°W.at 0000 UTC November 6 beforemerging into a developingextratropical storm over the

Canadian Maritimes. The firstanalysis in Figure 9 has theremains of Noel near 47°N.47°W., where they are about to beabsorbed.

Hurricane Olga: Like Karen andNöel, Olga formed from a low ona front, this time south of MPC’swaters, which initially developedinto an occluded cut-off low. Thissystem subsequently lost its frontalstructure as it drifted into MPC’s

Figure 5 - QuikScat satellite-sensed scatterometer winds valid about 0000 UTC October 12. Image iscourtesy of NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications.



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Figure 7 - MPC North Atlantic surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 1200 UTC November 4 and 5, 2001.

waters late on November 24 andcontinued to intensify, with TPCclassifying it as a subtropicalstorm (Figure 10). With a stronghigh-pressure ridge to the north, alarge area of gale to storm forcenortheast winds developed northand west of the center. Severalgale-force reports are plotted inFigure 10. The highest windreported by a ship was a northwind of 55 kt, along with 10-mseas (33 ft) from the Liberty Sun(WCOB) near 31°N. 56°W. at1800 UTC November 25. Thestorm continued to intensify duringthe next two days while remainingnearly stationary, with TPCupgrading it to Hurricane Olganear 31.5°N. 56°W. at 2100 UTCNovember 26. The intensitypeaked late on the 27th whenmaximum sustained winds reached80 kt with gusts to 100 kt. The

500-mb analysis in Figure 11, withthe same valid time as Figure 10,shows this system nearly verticallystacked. A 500-mb ridge buildingto the north eventually forcedOlga to move southwest andweaken. By early on the 29th Olgaweakened to a tropical stormsouth of MPC’s area.

Other Significant Events of thePeriod

Western Atlantic/CanadianMaritimes Storm of 7-8November: Referring again toFigure 9, the 960-mb storm shownin the second analysis formedfrom the merger of the low overNova Scotia with the secondarysystem at 39°N. 58°W., theremains of Tropical Storm Noeland the storm center near 30°N.63°W. which was formerly

Hurricane Michelle. At 0600 UTCNovember 7 the ship ELRT2near 36°N. 57°W. reported asouth wind of 60 kt. The AtlanticCartier (C6MS4) encounteredsoutheast winds of 60 kt near46°N. 49°W. at 1800 UTCNovember 7. The buoy 44140(43.8°N. 51.7°W.) at that timereported 7.5-m seas (25 ft). TheSea-Land Developer (KHRH)reported seas to 9.5 meters (31 ft)along with 35-kt southwest winds,also at that same time. This wasthe strongest storm in terms ofcentral pressure in the westernNorth Atlantic during this four-month period. The systemsubsequently moved north-northeast and weakened, beforere-intensifying while passing eastof Greenland by November 10.



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Figure 10 - MPC North Atlantic surface analysis chart (Part 2) valid 1200 UTC November 25, 2001.


Figure 11 - MPC 500-mb analysis valid 1200 UTC November 25, 2001. Short-wave troughs are depicted asbroken line segments.

North Atlantic Storm of 9-14December: This storm isdepicted in its most rapid phase ofdevelopment in Figure 12. Thecentral pressure dropped 24 mb,to 979 mb, in the 24-hour periodending at 1800 UTC December10. This development certainlyqualifies as a meteorological“bomb.” At 1200 UTC December10 the ship ELVG7 reported awest wind of 60 kt and 8-m seas(26 ft) near 40°N. 51°W. Figure13 is a QuikScat image showingwinds to 70 kt west and northwestof the center near 44°N. 39°W.Upon passing east ofNewfoundland and approaching35°W., the storm was forcednorth and slowed by a blocking

high over the British Isles. TheFidelio (WQVY) reported 13.5-mseas (45 ft), along with northwestwinds of 55 kt, near 44°N. 44°W.at 0000 UTC December 14. Thestorm weakened near 49°N.34°W. on the 14th but wasreplaced by another stormfollowing a similar track on the16th. This helped to maintain a longband of southeast gale to stormforce winds from south ofGreenland to near 40°N. 28°W.through December 18, with thestrong high pressure persisting tothe east. The Lykes Liberator(WGXN ) near 47°N. 27°W.reported a southeast wind of 45 ktand 10.5-m seas (35 ft) at 1800UTC December 17.

East Coast Storm of 18-19December: This systemdeveloped near Long Island at1800 UTC December 18 andmoved slowly north-northeastacross the Canadian Maritimesthrough the 19th before turningmore northwest and weakening,blocked by strong high pressure tothe east. The central pressurebottomed out at 965 mb near46°N. 57°W. at 1200 UTCDecember 19. The Sea-LandMotivator (WAAH ) reportednorthwest winds of 45 kt and 13-m seas (42 ft) near 39°N. 62°W.at this time. The highest windreported by a ship was anorthwest wind of 60 kt fromVCRT near 44°N. 58°W., also at1200 UTC December 19.



Figure 12 - MPC North Atlantic surface analysis chart (Part 2) valid 1200 UTC December 9 anda second surfsce analysis (Part 1) valid 0000 UTC December 11, 2001.

Figure 13 - QuikScat scatterometer winds valid about 0745 UTC December 11, 2001.Imagery is from NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications (North Atlantic Stormof 9-14 December).




Introduction

The weather pattern began withlow-pressure systems trackingeast across or just south of theBering Sea and into the Gulf ofAlaska with former tropicalsystems in the mix, especiallythrough October when the tropicswere most active. There wereseven tropical cyclones whichappeared on MPC oceanicanalysis charts and either becameextratropical before enteringMPC’s high seas area (seeReference 2) or actually movedinto the high seas waters astropical cyclones. All came fromthe tropical western North Pacificand passed near or east of Japanbefore recurving northeast.

As the fall season progressed themain track of lows shifted southwith a southern track from nearJapan to the Gulf of Alaskabecoming more active, producingsome intense lows. Sometimes theupper-air flow pattern becamemore amplified and steered stormscoming off Japan northwardtoward the Kamchatka Peninsulaor the southwest Bering Sea.Many of the low-pressure systemsproduced storm force winds;hence, attention is focused mainlyon those out-of-the-ordinary

systems producing hurricane-forcewinds.

Tropical Activity

Typhoon Wutip: Still a typhoonwith maximum sustained winds of70 kt with gusts to 85 kt near31°N. 150°E at the start ofSeptember, Wutip weakened to atropical storm at 1800 UTCSeptember 1. At 1200 UTCSeptember 1 the ship DGLOreported a southwest wind of 45 ktand 10-m seas (32 ft). Wutipbecame extratropical at 0000 UTCSeptember near 39°N. 161°E andraced northeast along a frontassociated with a gale in theBering Sea without redeveloping.

Tropical Storm Danas: Just eastof Japan near 42°N. 146°E at0000 UTC September 12 withmaximum sustained winds of 45 ktwith gusts to 55 kt, Danas movednortheast and became anextratropical gale near the KurileIslands within 12 hours. Thesystem later intensified into astorm just south of the easternAleutians at 1200 UTC September14. The ship ELXX6 near 44N.166E reported a southwest wind of45 kt at 0600 UTC September 13.QuikScat scatterometer winds at0600 UTC September 14 showedwinds to 60 kt west and southwest

of the center (not shown). Thestorm then weakened to a low inthe southern Gulf of Alaska late onSeptember 16.

Typhoon Vipa: Vipa passed justsouth of Japan on September 19with maximum sustained winds of70 kt with gusts to 85 kt. By 1800UTC September 21 Vipa was atropical storm with maximumwinds 45 kt with gusts to 55 kt.The system then merged with alow in the western Bering Sea by1200 UTC September and movedeast while intensifying, developinga 968-mb central pressure in thewestern Gulf of Alaska at 0000UTC September 14. The shipELOT3 reported a northwestwind of 50 kt and 10.5-m seas (35ft) near 52°N. 170°W., and thesame wind with 13-m seas (42 ft)near 52°N. 171°W. at 1800 UTCSeptember 13 and 0000 UTCSeptember 14, respectively. ThePresident Truman (WNDP)near 54°N. 164°W. experiencednorthwest winds of 60 kt at 1200UTC September 14. The stormthen weakened and drifted east.

Typhoon Francisco: Franciscoattained maximum strength withmaximum winds of 100 kt andgusts to 125 kt near 26°N. 148°Eat 1200 UTC September 23 andbegan to weaken 24 hours later

Marine Weather ReviewNorth Pacific AreaSeptember through December 2001

George Bancroft



while drifting north. Francisco thenweakened to a tropical storm near37°N. 150°E at 0600 UTCSeptember 25 and acceleratednortheast, becoming anextratropical storm 44°N. 160°Eeighteen hours later. The systemthen weakened while passingsouth of the Aleutians on the 26th

and 27th, before re-intensifying to astorm near the Queen CharlotteIslands at 1200 UTC September29. Buoy 46004 reportedsouthwest winds of 40 kt and 7.5-m seas (25 ft) at this time. Thesystem moved inland andweakened later that day.

Typhoon Krosa: Tropical StormKrosa formed south of Japan near16°N. at 0600 UTC October 4 andmoved northwest, rapidlyintensifying to a typhoon withmaximum sustained winds of 105kt with gusts to 130 kt near 20°N.137°E at 1200 UTC October 5before recurving northeast andweakening. Figure 1 depicts Krosaas a tropical storm merging with afrontal zone to the north andrapidly re-intensifying into ahurricane-force extratropical stormover a 36-hour period. The centralpressure dropped 32 mb in the 24-hour period ending at 1800 UTCOctober 10. The PresidentWilson (WCY3438) encounteredsouth winds of 65 kt near 40°N.177°E at 0600 UTC October 10.Twelve hours later this ship was at39°N. 178°W. reporting westwinds of 50 kt and 13.5-m seas(44 ft). A QuikScat image for1548 UTC October 10 (Figure 2)reveals hurricane force winds upto 75 kt to the south and north ofthe center. The storm

subsequently tracked northeastand weakened in the northern Gulfof Alaska on October 12.

Super Typhoon Podul: Podulattained a maximum strength of140 kt with gusts to 170 kt at 0600UTC October 24 near 17°N.157°E while drifting northnortheast, then began to weakenafter 0600 UTC October 26.Figure 3 shows Podul approachinga front to the north and becomingextratropical 24 hours later. Thetyphoon actually entered the MPChigh seas area at 1200 UTCOctober 27 before becomingextratropical. Figure 4 is a GMSinfrared satellite image showingPodul as a white circular cloudmass entering the southern end ofa northeast to southwest frontalband. The ship JRZH reportednorth winds of 50 kt and 9-m seas(30 ft) near 36°N. 157°E at 1200UTC October 27. The system thenredeveloped northeast near theeastern Aleutians on the 28th andreached the Gulf of Alaska onOctober 30.

Super Typhoon Faxai: Faxaiapproached the southwest cornerof MPC’s high seas waters near29°N. 158°E at 1800 UTCDecember 25 as a minimaltyphoon, before becomingextratropical six hours later near31°N. 161°E. Prior to this, Faxaiwas once a super typhoon withmaximum sustained winds of 150kt and gusts to 180 kt. The systemthen moved east and rapidlyweakened.

Other Significant Events

Gulf of Alaska Storm of 2-3November: This systemdeveloped rapidly as depicted inFigure 5, absorbing an arctic low-pressure system and cold front tothe north, and deepening by 29 mbin the 24-hour period ending at1800 UTC November 3. Thesystem was at maximum intensityin the second analysis of Figure 5.The GOES-10 infrared satelliteimage of the storm (Figure 6)reveals an “eye” at the center, acharacteristic of an intensesystem. Figure 7 is a high-resolution QuikScat image ofscatterometer winds around thestorm about 14 hours prior to thetime of maximum intensity. Thereare 70 kt wind barbs off the coastof Southeast Alaska. At 1541UTC November there was a ship(callsign unknown) reporting southwinds of 70 kt near 55°N. 132°W.The vessel WCD7842 at 57°N.143°W. reported southwest windsof 50 kt and 9-m seas (30 ft) at2100 UTC November 3. Thestorm then drifted toward the westand weakened.

Western Pacific Storm of 12-14November: Figure 8 depicts therapid development of this stormover 36 hours. Initial deepeningwas 32 mb in the 24-hour periodending at 0600 UTC November13, with this storm certainlyqualifying as a meteorological“bomb”. Between 0000 UTC and0600 UTC November 13 the stormcenter passed the ship DHDHwhich reported an east wind of 35kt shifting to west 115 kt with thelatter location at 39°N. 155°E.This latter wind may appear high



Figure 1 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 0600 UTC October 9 and 1800UTC October 10, 2001.

Figure 2 - QuickScat scatterometer winds valid about 1548 UTCOctober 10, 2001. Image is courtesy of NOAA/NESDIS/Office ofResearch and Applications.



Figure 3 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 0000 UTC October 27 and 28, 2001.

Figure 4 - GMS-5 infrared satellite image valid 2132 UTC October 26, 2001.Satellite senses temperature on a scale from cold (white) to warm (balack) in thistype of image. The valid time is about two and one-half hours prior to time of firstsurface analysis in Figure 3. (from NASA Global Hydrology and Climate Center)



Figure 5 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts (Part 1) valid 1200 UTC November 2 and 1800 UTCNovember 3, 2001.

Figure 6 - GOES-10 infrared satellite image valid 1800 UTC November 3,2001 (same as valid time of second analysis in Figure 5).


Figure 8 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 0600 UTC November 12 and 1800 UTCNovember 13, 2001.


Figure 7 - High-resolution QuickScat image of scatterometer windsvalid about 0410 UTC November 3, 2001. The resolution is 12.5 km inthis image, versus 25 km for regular QuickScat imagery. (from NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications)



Figure 9 - QuikScat satellite image of scatterometer winds valid0826 UTC November 13, 2001. (from NOAA/NESDIS/Office ofResearch Applications)

Figure 10 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts (Part 2) valid 0600 UTC December 3 and 4, 2001.



for the open ocean outside atyphoon, but a QuickScat pass for0826 UTC November 13 (Figure9) has an 80 kt wind barb near thelocation of the ship. Reported seaswere 9.5 meters (31 ft) in thesecond report. The storm thenmoved north to near theKamchatka Peninsula with a 960mb central pressure beforebeginning to drift southwest andweaken. The APL China (S6TA)encountered southwest winds of50 kt and 11.5-m seas (38 ft) near50°N. 171°E at 1800 UTCNovember 14.

Western Pacific Storm of 3-4December: In Figure 10 the 996-hPa developing storm is depicteddeepening by 44 hPa in the 24-hour period ending at 0600 UTCDecember 4. This is perhaps themost impressive intensificationrate in either ocean during thefour-month period. The APL

China reported a northwest windof 69 kt and 16.5-m seas (54 ft)near 39°N. 172°E at 1800 UTCDecember 3, while the EssenExpress (DHEE) nearbyencountered northwest winds of65 kt. The Westwood Belinda(H9IM) at 39°N. 171°E reportednorthwest winds of 50 kt and 16-mseas (53 ft) at 0000 UTCDecember 4, while ahead of thesystem, the Mayview Maersk(OWEB2) encountered southeastwinds of 60 kt and 8-m seas (27ft) near 45°N. 179°W. Figure 11 isa QuikScat image of satellite-sensed winds valid at 1755 UTCDecember 3 featuring 65-kt northwind barbs on the back side of thestorm. This system then turnedtoward the north, to just south ofthe Aleutians at 1800 UTCDecember 4, before driftingnorthwest and weakening.

Two Hurricane-Force Stormsin North Pacific, 22-24December: This situation wasmade possible by the presence oftwo major upper-level troughs anda very strong jet stream. Figure 12depicts the surface developmentsover a 36-hour period, while the500-mb analysis in Figure 13corresponds to the time of rapidintensification of both systems anddepicts strong jet streams andshort-wave troughs supportingdevelopment. See Reference 1 formore information on therelationships of the 500-mb chartto surface features. The westernstorm is shown in the second partof Figure 12 at maximum intensity.This was the most intense storm ofthe four-month period in eitherocean. The eastern storm is shownrapidly intensifying, but the peakintensity of 960 mb was reachedsix hours prior to the valid time ofthe second surface analysis.Figure 14 is an infrared satellite

Figure 11 - QuickScat scatterometer winds valid 1755 UTCDecember 3, 2001. (from NOAA/NESDIS/Office of Research andApplications)



image of the North Pacificshowing both storms, with thewestern storm at maximumintensity. The spiral cloud patternaround the well-defined center isindicative of a very intensesystem. The highest wind reportedby a ship was a southwest windof 61 kt from the WestwoodMarianne (C6QD3) near 40°N.156°W. at 1200 UTC December22. The same ship reported anorthwest wind of 50 kt and 14.5-m seas (48 ft) near 39°N. 156°W.six hours later, the highestreported in these two storms. Shipdata was lacking near thewestern storm, except on thefringes. The Mackinac Bridge(JKES) near 46°N. 164°W.reported a south wind of 60 ktand 8-m seas (26 ft) at 0000 UTCDecember 24. Buoy 46035(57°N. 178°W.) had northeastwinds up to 40 kt and seas of 10.5meters (34 ft) at 0600 UTCDecember 24. On the southernperiphery of the storm, the CSXReliance (WFLH) near 39°N.170°W. encountered northwestwinds of 45 kt and 11-m seas (36ft). A QuikScat image (Figure 15)valid about 0439 UTC December23 reveals hurricane force windson the back side of the easternstorm, and also shows the easternedge of the western storm whichhas some 60-kt wind barbs.

The eastern storm subsequentlymoved into the Gulf of Alaskaand weakened later on December24. The stronger western stormendured a bit longer, drifting eastwhile slowly weakening andbecoming absorbed by a stormpassing to the south by December27.

References1. Sienkiewicz, J. and Chesneau,L., Mariner’s Guide to the 500-Mb Chart (Mariners WeatherLog, Winter 1995).

2. Bancroft, G., High Seas TextBulletins Issued by MPC(Mariners Weather Log, Vol. 40,No. 2, Summer 1996).

Figure 12 - MPC North Pacific surface analysis charts valid 0600 UTCDecember 22 and 1800 UTC December 23, 2001.



Figure 13 - MPC 500-hPa analysis valid 0000 UTC December 23, 2001. The valid time is halfway betweenthe analysis times of the two charts in Figure 12.

Figure 14 - Composite image made up of GOES-10 and GMS infrared satelliteimagery valid 1830 UTC December 23, 2001.



Figure 15 - QuikScat scatterometer winds valid abour 0439 UTC December 23, 2001. (from NOAA/NESDIS/Office of Research and Applications.


TROPICAL REVIEWSeptember 2001 - December 2001

Dr. Jack BevenNational Hurricane Center

Daniel BrownTropical Analysis and Forecast Branch


Table 1. Observations from the Tellus during its encounter withHurricane Noel, 5-6 November

Introduction

The Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center (TPC/NHC) became much busier asactivity in the Atlantic significantlyincreased. A total of 20 tropicalstorms and hurricanes occurred inthe Atlantic and eastern Pacificduring the summary period.Several non-tropical gale eventsalso affected the TPC high seasforecast areas.

The Tale of the Tellus

Most hurricane seasons bringmany encounters between shipsand tropical cyclones, andexamples of how shipobservations aid the TPC inanalysis and forecasting. One ofthe best such examples from the2001 season was that of theTellus (WRYG) and the stormthat became Hurricane Noel.

A non-tropical low formed in theeastern Atlantic late on 1November near 32°N. 40°W. Thissystem strengthened into a stormcenter the next day as it driftednorthwestward. Convection beganto increase near the center on 3and 4 November, which suggested

that the storm might be acquiringtropical characteristics. TheTellus began its encounter withthe storm at 0000 UTC 5November (Table 1) as it traveledwestward into the now northward-moving circulation. The keyobservations were at 1200 UTCand 1400 UTC. Figure 1 shows animage of the soon-to-be Noel at1145 UTC with the 1200 UTCship observations plotted on it.Note that while Tellus wasreporting 60 kt and 992.0 hPafrom near the center, other nearby

ships were reporting 30 kt or less.This indicated the storm haddeveloped a strong inner corecharacteristic of a tropicalcyclone, even though itsappearance on satellite imageswas less than classically tropical.The 1400 UTC observation of 65kt indicated that the system wasat hurricane strength. SubsequentTellus observations helpeddetermine the size of the windfield on the southwest side of thestorm.



Based on the observations fromthe Tellus and satellitemicrowave data indicating thesystem was warm-core, the TPC/NHC wrote the first advisory onHurricane Noel at 1500 UTC 5November (Figure 2). After thistime, Noel continued northwardand weakened to a tropical stormlater that day. It becameextratropical about 285 nmisoutheast of Cape Race,Newfoundland on 6 Novemberand was soon absorbed intoanother extratropical low.

The TPC normally requests in itsForecast/Advisories that all shipswith 300 nmi of a tropical cyclonesend three-hourly observations.Increased observations (three-hourly and hourly) are also usefulwhen a tropical cyclone is firstforming regardless of whether itforms from a non-tropical low or atropical disturbance, or when theobserved weather is significantly

different than indicated in forecastor analysis products.

The 2002 Hurricane Season

The 2002 hurricane season beginsin the eastern Pacific on 15 Mayand in the Atlantic on 1 June. Bothseasons run through 30November. The names for thisseason’s storms are listed in thetable below.

Significant Weather of thePeriod

A. Tropical Cyclones: Twelvetropical cyclones occurred in theAtlantic basin during the summaryperiod, making this one of themost active September-Decemberperiods ever. These included onetropical depression, two tropicalstorms, and nine hurricanes. Fourof the hurricanes reachedCategory 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The

eastern North Pacific basinproduced ten tropical cyclones,including one tropical depression,four tropical storms and fivehurricanes, with Hurricane Juliettereaching Category 4 status on theSaffir-Simpson scale.

1. Atlantic

Hurricane Erin: Erin formedfrom a tropical wave on 1September and quickly became atropical storm about 660 mileswest-southwest of the CapeVerde Islands (Fig. 2). It movedwest-northwestward over the nextfew days, with maximumsustained winds reaching 50 kt on3 September. After that, westerlywind shear caused the cyclone toweaken to an area of disturbedweather about 400 miles east ofthe northern Leeward islands on 5September. The shear thendecreased and a new centerformed the next day about 475miles north-northeast of thenorthern Leeward Islands. Thereborn Erin moved north-northwestward and strengthenedinto a tropical storm on 7September and to a hurricane on 8September. It passed about 90 nmieast of Bermuda on the 9September just before maximumwinds peaked at 105 kt (Fig. 3).After a slow recurvature from 11to 13 September, Erin acceleratednortheastward and passed nearCape Race on the 14 Septemberat just below hurricane strength. Itbecame extratropical shortlythereafter.

Several ships encountered Erin,with the most notable observation



Figure 1. GOES-8 infrared image of hurricane Noel at 1145 UTC 5 November 2001 with1200 UTC ship observations overlaid on the imagery.

coming from the Semyonovosk(UCTR) which reported 48ktwinds at 1500 UTC 14September. Also noteworthy wasdata from the Sealand Pride(WDA367) which intermittentlyreported tropical storm windsfrom 1200 UTC on 12 Septemberto 0000 UTC on the 14September. Other significant shipobservations in Erin are includedin Table 2.

Erin brought strong winds andheavy rains to portions ofsoutheastern Newfoundland, withCape Race reporting 46-ktsustained winds and gusts to 58 ktat 0200 UTC 15 September.Bermuda reported a gust to 36 kt.

There are no reports of damagesor casualties.

Hurricane Felix: A tropicalwave developed into a tropicaldepression on 7 Septembersouthwest of the Cape VerdeIslands (Fig. 2). Late on 8September, the westward-movingdepression encountered strongshear and weakened to a tropicalwave. As the wave continuedwestward, the shear relaxedenough to allow a new center toform early on 10 September about1000 miles east of the LesserAntilles. This made the system theseason’s fourth topical cyclone todissipate in the deep tropics andthen regenerate. The depression

tracked steadily west-northwestward and becameTropical Storm Felix on 11September. During the next twodays Felix turned northwestwardand then northward, becoming ahurricane late on 12 September.Maximum winds reached 100 ktas Felix curved northeastward lateon 13 September. Slow weakeningoccurred thereafter. Felix turnedeastward on 15 September andcontinued this motion until itweakened back to a tropical stormon 17 September, at which time itstalled about 350 miles southwestof the Azores. Increasing shearand cooler waters caused Felix toweaken to a depression early on18 September and to dissipate



Table 2 - Selected ship and buoy observations of 34 kt or greaterwinds for Hurricane Erin, 1-15 September, 2001.

Figure 2 - Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes of 2001.

later that day about 400 milessouthwest of the Azores.

Only a few ships encounteredFelix. The LTC Calvin P. Titus(KAKG) reported 35 kt winds at1800 UTC on 16 September, whilethe Nariva (C6PW2) reported 34kt winds at 1200 UTC on 17September. There were no reportsof damages or casualties.

Hurricane Gabrielle: Gabrielleformed over the southeastern Gulfof Mexico on 11 September froma non-tropical low (Fig. 2). Itlooped slowly for two days beforemoving northeastward on 13



Figure 3 - Close-up of image of Hurricane Erin with winds peaked at 105kt. Image is MODIS data acquired by direct broadcast from the NASATerra spacecraft at the Space Science and Engineering Center,University of Wisonsin-Madison.

Table 3. Selected ship and buoy observations of 34 kt or greater winds forHurricane Gabrielle, 11-19 September, 2001.

September as it became a tropicalstorm. Gabrielle moved inlandnear Venice, Florida on 14September as a tropical stormwith 60-kt tropical storm winds.After meandering across theFlorida Peninsula, the stormmoved northeastward into theAtlantic near Cape Canaveral on15 September. Gabrielle continuednortheastward and became ahurricane with 70-kt winds on 17September while located about250 miles north of Bermuda. Itweakened to a tropical storm on18 September and becameextratropical the next day about330 miles south of Cape Race.

Even while it was a hurricane,Gabrielle had a large wind fieldsimilar to that of an extratropicallow. Selected observations from

some ships it affected are givenin Table 3. The most significantobservations were from theKRPDD (name unknown)which reported 58-kt winds at0000 and 1800 UTC 16September. Additionally, a buoyoff the southwest Florida coastreported 44-kt sustained windswith a gust to 85 kt at 1210 UTCon 14 September. At the shore,the Coastal Marine AutomatedNetwork (C-MAN) station at St.Augustine, Florida reported 51-ktsustained winds with gusts to 65kt, while a marine laboratory atNew Pass, Florida also reported

51-kt sustained winds.

Gabrielle is blamed for one deathand $230 million in damage in theUnited States.



Figure 4 - Best track of Tropical Depression Nine, 19 - 20 September2001.

Tropical Depression Nine: Atropical wave moving through theCaribbean spawned a tropicaldepression about 50 nmi north-northwest of San Andres Islandon 19 September (Fig. 4). Thesystem moved west-northwestward and made landfallnear Puerto Cabezas, Nicaraguaearly on 20 September. Itdissipated over land later thatday, and there were no reports ofdamages or casualties.

Hurricane Humberto:Humberto had an unusual originin that it formed from a troughextending southwestward fromGabrielle. The cyclone developedon 21 September about 490 milessouth of Bermuda (Fig. 2). Itmoved northwestward andstrengthened into a tropicalstorm on 22 and 23 September.On 23 September Humbertogradually turned northward andbecame a hurricane, passing about140 miles west of Bermuda.Winds reached 85 kt early on 24September, followed by someweakening while Humberto turnednortheastward. The cycloneunexpectedly re-intensified on 26September, and maximum windsreached 90 kt while Humbertowas centered about 200 milessouth-southeast of Sable Island,Nova Scotia. The hurricane turnedeastward and weakened to atropical storm on 27 September.Humberto became extratropicallater that day, and the remnantcirculation was eventuallyabsorbed by a larger low over thefar north Atlantic.

Ships generally avoided Humberto.The Sealand Expedition(WPGJ) and the Onejskyi(UCTI) reported 37-kt winds at1800 UTC 23 September and 1200UTC 27 September, respectively.Bermuda reported a gust to 37 kt.There were no reports of damagesor casualties.

Hurricane Iris: Iris developedfrom a tropical wave near theWindward Islands on 4 October(Fig. 2). Moving west-northwestward into the CaribbeanSea, it became a tropical storm on6 October. Iris turned westwardand reached hurricane status on 7October just south of theBarahona Peninsula of theDominican Republic. Thehurricane passed near thesouthern coast of Jamaica later

that day, before rapidlyintensifying while crossing thewestern Caribbean. Maximumwinds reached 125 kt just beforelandfall near Monkey River Townin southern Belize on the eveningof 8 October. Iris weakenedrapidly after landfall and dissipatedover eastern Mexico on 9October.

Although Iris was a Category 4hurricane on the Saffir-Simpsonscale at landfall, the core wasvery small with hurricane forcewinds extending no more than 25nmi from the center. Tropical-storm force winds generallyextended no more than 100 nmifrom the center. No ships reportedtropical storm winds from Iris.However, a marine tragedyoccurred at landfall when the M/V



Table 4 - Selected ship observations of 34 kt or greater winds associatedwith Hurricane Karen, 12-15 October 2001.Best track of Tropical

Depression Nine, 19 - 20 September 2001.

Wave Dancer capsized in harbornear Big Creek, Belize with theloss of 20 lives.

Iris caused severe damage fromwinds and an 8- to 15-ft stormsurge within a 60 nmi wide area ofsouthern Belize. Including those onthe Wave Dancer, Iris wasresponsible for 31 deaths, anddamage in Belize was estimated at$66 million.

Tropical Storm Jerry: Jerrydeveloped from a tropical wave on6 October about 540 nmi east-southeast of Barbados (Fig. 2).Moving west-northwestward, itreached tropical storm strengthlater that day. Jerry movedthrough the Windward Islands atits maximum intensity of 45-ktwinds on 7 and 8 October. Thesystem then became disorganizedin the eastern Caribbean Sea anddissipated late on 8 October.

There are no ship reports oftropical-storm-force winds fromJerry. The town of Caravelle onMartinique reported 39 ktsustained winds with gusts to 50kt on 8 October. There were noreports of damages or casualties.

Hurricane Karen: A frontalsystem stalled about 200 nmisoutheast of Bermuda on 10October. A low formed on thefront early on 11 October, and thelow became a strong subtropicalstorm as it tracked northwestwardjust southwest of Bermuda earlythe next day (Fig. 2). The stormturned northward later that day.The cyclone then became betterorganized, transforming into

Tropical Storm Karen early on 13October and progressing tohurricane status later that day.Karen moved generallynorthward for the next 2 days,with maximum winds reaching 70kt early on 14 October. It madelandfall in western Nova Scotiaon 15 October as a 40-kt tropicalstorm and became extratropicalwhile moving toward westernNewfoundland, where it mergedwith a large mid-latitude lowpressure system.

The Nordic Empress (ELJV7)was anchored at Bermuda whilethe subtropical storm passed andreported 79-kt sustained windswith a gust to 103 kt at theanemometer height of 153 ft. Theship also reported a 991.0 mbpressure. Other ship observationsfor hurricane Karen are includedin Table 4.

Official land observations onBermuda included 58-kt sustainedwinds with gusts to 78 kt. Therewere unofficial reports ofsustained winds near 65 kt with

gusts to 85 kt. These windscaused tree and power linedamage, leaving more than 23,000people without power and causingthe Norwegian Majesty to breakanchor at the height of the storm.Cape George, Nova Scotiareported 41-kt sustained windswith a gust to 56 kt when Karenmade landfall.

Tropical Storm Lorenzo:Lorenzo formed from a non-tropical low in the easternAtlantic that developed on 26October. The low became atropical depression on 27 Octoberabout 850 miles southwest of theAzores and moved slowlywestward (Fig. 2). Late on 29October it reached minimaltropical storm strength about 1250miles west-southwest of theAzores. Lorenzo turned to thenorthwest and then to the north on30 October with little change instrength. Accelerating rapidly tothe north-northeast early on 31October, Lorenzo lost tropicalcharacteristics ahead of anapproaching cold front about 700



Figure 5 - GOES-8 visible image of Hurricane Michelle at 1245UTC 3 November. Image courtesy of the Naval ResearchLaboratory, Monterey, CA.

miles west of the Azores. Therewere no reliable reports oftropical-storm-force winds fromLorenzo, and there were noreports of damages or casualties.

Hurricane Michelle: This classiclate-season hurricane started as abroad low associated with atropical wave in the southwesternCaribbean Sea on 27 October. Itdeveloped into a tropicaldepression on 29 October alongthe east coast of Nicaragua (Fig.2). The depression then movedinland and meandered overnortheastern Nicaragua for twodays. Late on 31 October it movedinto the northwestern CaribbeanSea and became Tropical StormMichelle. The cyclone movedslowly north-northwestward forthe next two days as itstrengthened into a hurricane. Thehurricane turned slowly northwardon 3 November (Fig. 5), with anAir Force Reserve HurricaneHunter aircraft measuring acentral pressure of 933 hPa.Michelle turned northeastward on4 November as maximum windsreached 120 kt. Later that day ithit western Cuba as a Category 4hurricane on the Saffir-SimpsonHurricane Scale. A weakeningMichelle continued northeastwardthrough the Bahamas on 5November and becameextratropical over thesouthwestern Atlantic on 6November. The system wasabsorbed by a cold front late thatday.

Several ships encountered thelarge circulation of Michelle. Themost significant observations were

from the Scan Partner (call signunknown) and the ELWU7 (nameunknown). The Scan Partnerpassed near the center of Michelleat 0730 UTC 2 November andreported 34-47 kt winds and a988.0 mb pressure. The ELWU7reported 60-kt winds and a 995.0mb pressure at 1200 UTC on 5November. Other significant shipand buoy observations areincluded in Table 5.

Michelle was the strongesthurricane to hit Cuba since 1952and left a trail of damage anddeath from Central America to theBahamas. Cayo Largo, Cubareported 108-kt sustained windswith gusts to 115 kt, along with a9- to 10-ft storm surge that

reportedly innudated the entireisland. Nassau, Bahamas reporteda peak gust of 89 kt. Winds of 35to 45 kt occurred over portions ofsouth Florida. In addition to themain storm surge, above normaltides and battering wavesoccurred in portions of Cuba, theBahamas, the Cayman Islands,and south Florida. Seventeendeaths are associated with thehurricane, including 6 inHonduras, 5 in Cuba, 4 inNicaragua, and 2 in Jamaica.Widespread severe damageoccurred across western andcentral Cuba, with additionaldamage over portions of CentralAmerica, the Cayman Islands,Jamaica, and the Bahamas.



Table 5 - Selected ship and buoy observations of 34 kt or greater windsfor Hurricane Michelle, 29 October - 5 November, 2001.

Table 6 - Selected ship or buoy reports with winds of at least 34 kt forHurricane Noel, 4-6 November 2001.

Hurricane Noel: The story ofNoel is found above. A few shipsbesides the Tellus encounteredthe storm, and their reports areincluded in Table 6. There wereno reports of damages orcasualties from Noel.

Hurricane Olga: Olga originatedfrom yet another non-tropical lowover the central Atlantic. The lowformed on 22 November, and by24 November it had sufficientlyorganized convection to beclassified a subtropical stormabout 780 nmi east-southeast ofBermuda (Fig. 2). The stormmoved northwestward towestward for a day or so as itacquired full tropicalcharacteristics. It became ahurricane about 435 nmi east ofBermuda on 26 November. Olgamade two loops from 26 to 28November, during which timemaximum winds reached 80 kt. It

then moved southwestward,weakening to a tropical storm on29 November and a depression on30 November. Olga turnednorthwestward late on 1December. It then turned north-northwestward and regainedtropical storm strength on 2November. The cyclone turnedeastward on 3 November andagain weakened to a depressionthe next day. It dissipated laterthat day about 600 nmi east ofNassau.

Olga’s extratropical origin resultedin a large wind field whichaffected many ships. Selectedobservations are given in Table 7.The most significant reports werefrom the sailing yacht MananaTres (call sign unknown), whichindicated the system had formed astrong inner core, and from theLiberty Sun (WCOB), whichpassed near the center just beforeOlga became a hurricane.

The only known damage fromOlga was to the Manana Tres,which reported “lots of damage.”Swells generated by Olga affectedportions of the U. S. east coast,the Bahamas, and the northeasternCaribbean islands.

2. Eastern Pacific

Hurricane Gil and TropicalStorm Henriette: These twostorms developed almostsimultaneously and eventuallyinteracted with each other. Gilformed from an area of disturbedweather associated with thesouthern portion of the tropicalwave which spawned Dean in theAtlantic. The disturbance movedwestward across Central America



Table 7 - Selected ship reports with winds of at least 34 kt for HurricaneOlga, 24 November - 4 December, 2001.

on 24 August, but it did notbecome a tropical depression until4 September when it was locatedabout 850 nmi southwest of CaboSan Lucas, Mexico (Fig. 6). Onthe same day, early morningvisible satellite images indicatedthat another circulation wasorganized enough to be classifiedas a tropical depression about 300nmi west-southwest ofManzanillo, Mexico. This wasabout 765 nmi east of Gil. Gilreached hurricane intensity withmaximum winds of 85 kt on 6September, while Henriettestrengthened to a peak of 55 kton 7 September. Initially, Gilmoved westward but Henriette

moved faster and passed to thenorth of Gil. The two cyclonesbegan to rotate around each otheron 7 September. Henriettebecame absorbed by thecirculation of Gil and dissipated on8 September. However, itsremnant disturbance made acounterclockwise loop of Gil overthe ensuing 24 hours. Gil’scirculation persisted a little bitlonger but gradually weakened anddissipated on 9 September about1150 miles east of the HawaiianIslands.

The combination of Gil andHenriette created a large area ofsouthwesterly and southerly winds

to the east and southeast of thecyclones. The ship PacificHighway reported 40 kt windsand 22 ft seas at 0000 UTC 7September in this flow whileabout 205 nmi southeast of thecenter of Gil.

Tropical Storm Ivo: Ivo firstformed about 100 nmi south-southwest of Acapulco on 10September (Fig. 6). It movedslowly west-northwestwardthrough its lifetime with itscirculation hugging the coast.The cyclone became a tropicalstorm on 11 Septemberandreached a peak intensity of 45 kton 12 September. It thenweakened to a depression on 14September and dissipated thenext day about 300 nmi west ofBaja California.

The ship ZDEB2 (nameunknown) reported 37 kt windsat 0600 UTC 12 September,which was the basis for

upgrading Ivo to a tropical storm.Although tropical-storm forcewinds occurred along portions ofthe coast of Mexico, there wereno reports of damages orcasualties.

Hurricane Juliette: This largeand powerful hurricane was theonly eastern Pacific cyclone tomake landfall during 2001. Julietteformed from the remnants ofAtlantic Tropical Depression Nine,which entered the Pacific on 20September. The system organizedinto a depression about 90 nmisouth of the coast of Guatemalaon 21 September and reachedtropical storm strength later that



Figure 6 - Eastern North Pacific tropical storms and hurricanes of 2001.

Table 8 - Selected ship reports with winds of at least 34 kt for HurricaneJuliette, 23-28 September 2001.

day (Fig. 6). Juliette movedwest-northwestward about100-200 nmi from the coastof Mexico from 21 to 26September. It became a hurricaneon 23 September and reached apeak intensity of 125 kt on 25September (Fig. 7). On that date,an Air Force Reserve HurricaneHunter aircraft measured acentral pressure of 923 hPa, thesecond lowest measured pressureof record in the eastern Pacific.Juliette turned northward andbegan to weaken on 26September. It passed just west ofCabo San Lucas as a hurricanewith 80 kt winds on 28 Septemberand made landfall on the BajaCalifornia peninsula near SanCarlos as a tropical storm with35-kt winds on 30 September.Juliette continued slowlynorthward as a depression into theGulf of California and eventuallydissipated over the northernportion of the Gulf on 3 October.

The large circulation of Juliette

affected several ships. Selectedsignificant observations are shownin Table 8. The most significantobservation was from the ZimAtlantic (4XFD), which reported55-kt winds at 0600 UTC 28September.

On shore, Cabo San Lucasreported sustained winds of 76 ktwith a gust to 94 kt at 0000 UTC

30 September. Two deaths areattributed to Juliette: a fishermannear Acapulco whose boatcapsized in high seas, and a surferwho drowned near the BajaCalifornia coast. According toMexican news agency reports,Juliette “clobbered’ the resort ofCabo San Lucas, isolating it forseveral days. Flooding in the stateof Sonora drove more than 38,000people from their homes. Moisturefrom Juliette producedthunderstorms in southernCalifornia on 30 September,knocking down trees and powerlines across the Coachella Valley.

Hurricane Kiko: A portion ofthe tropical wave that spawnedAtlantic Hurricane Felix likelyspawned Kiko. The cycloneformed on 21 September about550 nmi southwest of Cabo SanLucas (Fig. 6). Moving generallywest-northwestward to westward,the cyclone became a tropicalstorm later that day and brieflybecame a hurricane with 65-kt



Figure 7 - GOES-10 visible image of Hurricane Juliette near peak intensity at 2100UTC 25October 2001. Image courtesy of the National Climatic Data.

winds on 23 September. Kikoweakened to a depression on 25September and degenerated into alow cloud swirl later that day near19oN. 129oW. There were noreports of damages, casualties, ortropical-storm-force winds.

Tropical Storm Lorena: Atropical wave that crossed into thePacific on 27 September organizedinto a tropical depression on 2October about 300 nmi south ofAcapulco, Mexico (Fig. 6). Thecyclone moved west-northwestward and becameTropical Storm Lorena later thatday. Lorena turned north-northwestward on 3 October as itreached a peak intensity of 50-ktwinds. The storm appeared to be athreat to the coast of Mexico at

that time; however, strong verticalshear caused rapid weakening,and Lorena became a weak lowon 4 October about 120 nmisouthwest of Puerto Vallarta,Mexico.

The ship ELXX7 (nameunknown) reported 35-kt winds at1730 UTC 3 October, while anunidentified ship reported 35-ktwinds a half-hour later. Therewere no reports of damages orcasualties.

Tropical Depression Fourteen-E: This short-lived system formedon 3 October about 800 nmisouthwest of Cabo San Lucas.Maximum winds reached 30 ktbefore the system dissipated thenext day.

Tropical Storm Manuel: Manuelformed from the remnants ofAtlantic Hurricane Iris. While Irisdissipated over Central Americaon 9 October, a new circulationcenter formed over the adjacentPacific. This system becameorganized into a tropicaldepression on 10 October about175 nmi south of Acapulco (Fig.6). After becoming a tropicalstorm on 11 October, it movedwestward to west-southwestwardaway from Mexico and weakenedto a tropical depression on 12October. Manuel then turnednorthwestward and regainedtropical storm status on 15October. It strengthened to itspeak intensity of 50 kt on 16October a little over 520 nmisouth-southwest of Cabo San



Lucas. Weakening occurredthereafter, with Manuel becominga depression again on 17Octoberand dissipating about 660 nmiwest-southwest of Cabo SanLucas the next day. There wereno reports of damages, casualties,or tropical-storm force winds.

Hurricane Narda: Narda formedabout 1150 nmi southwest of CaboSan Lucas on 20 October (Fig. 6).It became a tropical storm laterthat day and a hurricane with 75kt winds on 22 October whilemoving west-northwestward.Narda then turned westward andweakened, becoming a tropicalstorm on 23 October and adepression on 24 October. Strongvertical wind shear caused thetropical cyclone to dissipate about520 nmi east-southeast of theHawaiian Islands on 25 October.There were no reports ofdamages, casualties, or tropical-storm-force winds.

Hurricane Octave: Octavedeveloped from a large area ofdisturbed weather about 1000 nmisouthwest of Cabo San Lucas on31 October (Fig. 6). The west-northwestward moving cyclonebecame a tropical storm later thatday and a hurricane on 1November. Octave turnednorthwestward and reached apeak intensity of 75 kt on 2November before weakening to atropical storm later that day. On 3November, the system turnedwestward and weakened to adepression, and it dissipated laterthat day about 1300 nmi west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas.There were no reports of

damages, casualties, or tropical-storm-force winds.

B. Other Significant Events:

1. Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf ofMexico

West Atlantic Gale 30September: An early seasoncold front became stationary on 26September from the westernAtlantic across south centralFlorida to the Bay of Campeche.Winds increased late on 28September across the Gulf ofMexico and western Atlantic as alow pressure center formed alongthe front just north of the YucatanPeninsula. At 1200 UTC 29September, a 1005 mb low wasanalyzed near the Dry Tortugas,Florida. The low movednortheastward across southFlorida and by 0000 UTC 30September was located just eastof Palm Beach, Florida. Itcontinued northeastward andproduced a brief period of galesoff the Georgia and north Floridacoasts. The ship A. V. Kastner(ZCAM9) reported northeastwinds of 35 kt at 0000 UTC 30September. By 1200 UTC the lowcenter was near 31°N. 70°W., andgales had moved north of 31°N.Since no QuikScat data wereavailable due to the short durationof the event, the ship observationswere extremely useful indetermining the magnitude of thewinds.

Northwest Caribbean Gale 29-31 October: A cold front thatmoved off the coast of Texas on

25 October reached thenorthwestern Caribbean on 27October. The front moved slowlysoutheast across the Gulf on 26October, and by 1200 UTC thatday, a strong 1037 hPa high waslocated well northwest of the frontover the central United States.Northeast winds increased to 20-25 kt across the northwestCaribbean behind the front. On 28October, the front was stationaryacross the northwesternCaribbean while a broad lowpressure area (the precursor ofHurricane Michelle) strengthenedover the southwestern CaribbeanSea. By 1200 UTC on 29 October,winds increased to gale force from16°N. to 20°N. between 78°Wand 85°W. At that time the shipChiquita Schweiz (C6KD9)reported 34-kt winds and 4-m (13-ft) seas near 18°N. 80°W. Laterthat day the broad low became atropical depression (Fig. 2). Gale-force winds were associated withthe stationary front located wellnorth of the depression. QuikScatdata from just before 0000 UTC30 October indicated a large areaof 30-40 kt winds over thenorthern Caribbean. The area ofgale-force winds spreadnortheastward, and by 1200 UTCon 30 October covered the entireCaribbean north of 18°N. At thattime Chiquita Schweiz againobserved gale force winds of 40 ktnear the Windward Passage. By1200 UTC 31 October, the highpressure over the eastern UnitedStates began to weaken and movenortheastward. This weakened thepressure gradient over thenorthwestern Caribbean and windsdecreased below gale force.


Figure 8 - GOES-8 visible image of western Atlantic gale at 1815 UTC 15 November2001. Image courtesy of the National Climatic Data Center.


However, winds in that area soonincreased with the approach ofMichelle.

Central Atlantic Gale 3-4November: This event wasassociated with the low thateventually became HurricaneNoel. As the low intensified justnorth of the TPC high seasforecast area on 2 November, thewinds increased to gale force overthe area north of 29°N. between45°W. and 55°W. At 0600 UTCthat day the ship ChiquitaSchweiz again encountered galeforce winds of 36 kt near 29°N.53°W. This helped confirmQuikScat data a short time later.By 1800 UTC that day, the lowhad strengthened into a stormcenter near 33°N.44°W. At thattime the ships Chiquita Schweiz,

Endurance (WAUU), andGrafton (ZCBO5) observednortheast winds of 35 to 40 ktnear 30°N. 50°W. The stormcenter moved northwestward on 3November. A QuikScat pass from2108 UTC that day detected 30-35-kt winds north of 30°N.between 48°W. and 57°W. Galesended south of 31°N by 1800UTC on 4 November as thesystem turned northward.

West Atlantic Gale: 15-16November: A weakeningstationary front extended east towest across the western Atlantic,while a strong high pressurecenter located along the mid-Atlantic coast produced strongnortheast to east winds north ofthe front. A low started formingon the western end of the frontlate on 14 November just east of

central Florida. The low quicklystrengthened and became a 1006hPa gale center near 28°N. 80°W.at 0600 UTC on 15 November. At0600 UTC, the Tellus and theKent Sprint (VGDX) observed40-kt winds off the north Floridaand Georgia coasts. The shipobservations confirmed a 1023UTC QuikScat pass whichshowed an area of 30-40-kteasterly winds from 30°N. to33°N. west of 72°W. At 1200UTC, the ship LykesDiscoverer (WGXO)encountered northeast winds of 37kt, while an unidentified shipreported 40-kt winds near 31°N.78.5°W. GOES-8 visible satelliteimagery at 1815 UTC 15November (Fig. 8) showed thewell-defined low just off the east-central Florida coast. The galecenter drifted northeastward and



weakened while the high pressurecenter off the mid-Atlantic coastmoved east into the centralAtlantic. By 0600 UTC on 16November, gale conditions endedsouth of 31°N. but continued overthe Marine Prediction Center’sarea north of 31°N. At 1800UTC, the gale center weakenedto a low near 29°N. 76°W., whicheventually dissipated northeast ofPuerto Rico on 21 November.

Gulf of Mexico Cold Front 29-30 November: A slow-movingcold front moved off the coast ofsoutheast Texas around 0000UTC 28 November. Early on 29November, the front acceleratedsoutheastward as stronger highpressure moved southward acrossthe central United States. By0600 UTC, the front extendedfrom just east of Lake Charles,Louisiana to the southwesternBay of Campeche. At that timenorthwesterly gale force windsbegan over the southwest Gulf ofMexico in the area south of 25°N.west of the cold front. The shipKoeln Express (9VBL)observed 37-kt winds at 1200UTC and 33-kt winds at 1800UTC in the southwest Bay ofCampeche. The short-lived galeevent ended at 0000 UTC 30November.

Central and East AtlanticGales 17-18 December and23-26 December: Apredominant longwave trough wasover the central and east Atlanticduring the later half of December.Several fast-moving cold frontsand gale centers movedsoutheastward, then eastward just

north of 31°N., producing periodsof gale force winds over theeastern portion of the TPCforecast area. Gales associatedwith the first system began at0600 UTC 17 December. Galeconditions and seas of 4.5 to 6 m(15-20 ft) occurred over the TPCforecast area north of 29°N. eastof 50°W. At 0600 UTC and 1200UTC 17 December the shipChiquita Nederland (C6KD6)encountered west to northwest 35to 40-kt winds near 30°N. 45°W.A day later the ship Coral Reef(C6RO6) and the ship C6RO2(name unknown) experiencedwesterly gale force winds of 35-40 kt near 30°N. 45°W. at 0600UTC and 1200 UTC. By 0000UTC 19 December, galeconditions ended south of 31°N.;however, swells of 3.5-5.5 m (12-

18 ft) continued north of 25°N.east of 55°W. through the rest ofthat day.

The next cold front beganproducing gales along 31°N.shortly before 1200 UTC 23December. At that time this fast-moving front extend through31°N. 42°W. - 21°N. 55°W. tonear Puerto Rico. QuikScat dataat 2134 UTC that day showed alarge area of 30 to35-kt windsnorth of 29°N. between 45°W.and 55°W. On 24 December at0000 UTC, the ship LicornePacifique (J8CV5) reportednorthwest winds of 35 kt near29°N. 53°W. By 0000 UTC on 25December, the cold front reachedfrom 31°N. 31°W. -19°N. 40°W.to near 15°N. 58°W. At that timegale conditions covered the area

Figure 9 - QuikSCAT data at 0755 UTC 26 December 2001. Imagecourtesy of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, andInformation Service.



Figure 10 - GOES-8 visible image of eastern Atlantic gale at 1215 UTC26 December 2001. Image courtesy of the National Climatic DataCenter.

north of 27°N. east of 53°W. On25-26 December a fast-movingstorm center movedsoutheastward and then eastwardjust north of 31°N. This causedwinds to increase 30-40 kt overthe TPC forecast area. At 0600UTC on the 26th, the 988-hPastorm was centered near 33°N.42°W. At that time the shipChiquita Rostock (ZCBD2)experienced west winds of 40 ktnear 29°N. 42°W. QuikScatdetected 40 to 50 kt winds justsouthwest of the storm center and30 to 40-kt winds south of 31°N.at 0755 UTC that day (Fig. 9).GOES-8 satellite imagery at 1215UTC 26 December (Fig. 10)clearly detected the well-definedstorm. By 0000 UTC on 27December, the storm weakenedand moved northeastward away

from the TPC forecast area, andgale conditions moved north of31°N. However, northwest windsof 25-30 kt and seas of 3.5-5.5 m(12-18 ft) continued north of25°N. east of 50°W. until 28December.

2. Eastern Pacific

Six Gulf of Tehuantepec galeevents occurred during the periodbeginning in the middle ofOctober, with the estimatedbeginning and ending times givenin Table 9. These events weredocumented by QuikScat data oroccasionally by reliable shipobservations.

The first event occurred between17-19 October. A strong coldfront moved southeastward

across the Gulf of Mexico on the16-17 October, and a 1030 hPahigh pressure center movedsouthward to eastern Texas by0600 UTC on the 17th. At thattime gales began over the Gulf ofTehuantepec. There were no shipobservations of gale force windsduring the event; however,QuikScat data detected 30 to35-ktwinds during the event, whichended at 1200 UTC 19 October.

The second event, beginning at0600 UTC 28 October, was moreprolonged. Two ships reportedgale force winds - the ChiquitaJoy (ZCBC2), which observednorth winds of 37 kt at 1800 UTC28 October and 38 kt at 0000UTC 29 October, and the MarineChemist (KMCB), whichreported 35-kt winds at 0000 UTCon 29 October. Several QuikScatpasses during the event showedgales with winds as high as 40 ktat 1232 UTC on 29 October.Subsequent QuikScat passes on30-31 October showed 30-35 ktwinds. The event ended at 1200UTC 1 November.

The next event began just before1200 UTC 5 November and wasobserved by several ships. Theship Tristan (SKWI) encounteredwinds of 37 kt and 38 kt at 1200and 1800 UTC, respectively.Other ships including the Saloma(VRVT2), Leverkusen Express(DEHY), Overseas NewOrleans (WFKW), and the ship30111 (name unknown) observedwinds of 35-40 kt between 1800UTC on 5 November and 1800UTC on 6 November. It is unusualto receive so many ships’



Table 9 - Gulf of Tehuantepec Gale Events (October - December 2001).

observations of gale force windsduring a single Tehuantepecevent. These observations werevery useful, as QuikScat dataonly detected 30 to35-kt winds.The event ended at 1800 UTC 7November.

The fourth event began a fewdays later, just before 0000 UTC10 November. During the eventthere were no ship observationsof gale force winds; however theship Zim Asia (4XFB) observed32-kt winds at 0600 UTC on 11November. Another ship, theBosporus Bridge (3FMV3),

encountered 33-kt winds wellsouth of the Gulf of Tehuantepecsix hours later. Therefore, it islikely that gale-force windsoccurred over the Gulf ofTehuantepec. Winds decreasedbelow gale force at 0600 UTC 12November.

The next event lasted only 24hours. Gales began just before0000 UTC 10 December. High-resolution QuikScat dataindicated 35 to 40-kt winds nearthat time; however, no shipobservations of gales werereceived. The event ended by0000 UTC 11 December.

The sixth event of the periodbegan just before 1200 UTC 20December. QuikScat data from1208 UTC 20 December indicated35-kt winds over the Gulf. Twosubsequent QuikScat passes near0000 UTC and 1200 UTC on 21December showed winds of 35-40kt.

There were no ship observationsof gale-force winds during theevent, but the ship Pearl Ace(VRUN4) observed 30-kt windsat 0600 UTC on 22 December.Gale conditions ended shortlybefore 1200 UTC that day.


New Great Lakes Weather Station

New Great Lakes Weather Station GivesForecasters and Mariners Crucial DataBy David GilhousenNational Data Buoy Center

In November 2001, theNational Data BuoyCenter (NDBC) installed a

new automatic weather stationatop the Lake St. ClairLighthouse near Detroit. Thestation, identified as LSCM4, isthe 57th station in NDBC’sCoastal-Marine AutomatedNetwork (C-MAN). On April 11,2002, a buoy (station 45012) wasdeployed in the middle of LakeOntario, expanding its presentnetwork to approximately 70moored buoy stations. Station45012 is located near Rochester,NY at approximately 43° 37' N.,77° 24' W.

The C-MAN station at Lake St.Clair Lighthouse is fundedthrough Michigan’s Departmentof Environmental Quality (DEQ)with support from the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS.) andthe Detroit Water and SewerageDepartment. Lake St. Clair is alarge source of drinking water forthe Detroit area, and the USGS.is conducting modeling of lakecurrents in order to better assessthe effect of pollutants on thelake. The USGS needed a highquality, year-round windmeasurement for its computermodel and worked with the DEQto fund the C-MAN station. Inaddition to the winds, the C-MANstation also measures airtemperature, water temperature,dew point, and sea level pressure.

The C-MAN equipment will beremoved from GLLN6 becausethe lighthouse (where theequipment is located), is indisrepair, and the Coast Guardfacility has been sold to a privateparty. A Canadian weather buoystation, 45135, located about 20miles southwest of GLLN6,provides representativeobservations for Eastern LakeOntario, and the National WeatherService’s Eastern Region hasdetermined a greater need forobservations in central LakeOntario. The MeteorologicalService of Canada is also aiding inthis effort by providing buoywinter storage and dock space attheir facilities in Hamilton,Ontario.

In addition to wave height andperiod, the buoy will measurewinds, air temperature, watertemperature, and sea levelpressure. In a 2000 surveyconducted by WFO Buffalo ofNOAA Weather Radio users, thelack of wave measurements wasidentified as the single mostimportant deficiency in weatherinformation. The observationsprovided by 45012 should help fillthis void.

Observations from both stationscan be obtained through NOAAWeather Radio, the Dial-A-Buoyline (228-688-1948), or byaccessing NDBC’s Web site,www.ndbc.noaa.gov.

“Though there are weather-reporting data buoys in the lake,they are retrieved by the middle ofNovember and not re-deployeduntil April,” said Greg Mann of theNational Weather Service Officein Detroit. “We produce marine

forecasts year-round forLake St. Clair, and the worststorms usually occur in late fall orearly spring.” Lake St. Clair is apopular location for recreationalboaters and ice fishermen. Theweather reporting buoys areoperated by the University ofMichigan and the MeteorologicalService of Canada.

The buoy in Lake Ontario willserve as a replacement for our C-MAN station at Galloo Island, NY(GLLN6). The Canadian CoastGuard will be used to deploy andretrieve the buoy, since the U.S.Coast Guard has no buoy tendersin Lake Ontario and maintainsAids-to-Navigation buoys via anagreement with the Canadians.

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Coastal Forecast Office News

Alaskan Waters:Collecting Ships Observations

Another pair of eyes isalways advantageous. It isthe main reason why many

police officers work in pairs,airliners have two pilots, andindeed, many vessels double thewatch for conducting hazardousevolutions such as entering port orrestricted waters. So too, lies therelationship between the vesselcrews and meteorologists. Asecond set of eyes measure theeffectiveness of computer modelsin rapidly changing dynamicweather patterns. Masters, matesand seamen all assist in theforecast process by providing the“ground truth” that is vital to agood forecast. Meteorologists keepthe forecast on track with the helpof the vessel crews. Recruitmentof these eyes has a very highpriority within the various offices inthe Alaskan Region.

Alaska has the largest coastline ofany U.S. state with numerousbays, passes and channels.Forecasting correct weatherconditions is challenging at best.There are very few shipping lanesinto the region, and this has led tovery sparse weather observationsin the past. However, there is alarge amount of coastal traffic inthe form of tugs, cruise ships,ferries, oil/gas platforms andfishing vessels. These numerous

“second set” of eyes are used tokeep the forecasts current and ontrack. Most observations arecollected via High FrequencySingle Side Band Radio, SEASsoftware, e-mail or by telephone.

Alaska Region has three, part-timePort Meteorological Officerslocated in Anchorage, Kodiak andValdez. The responsibilities ofthese offices include recruiting andtraining ship’s personnel inreporting weather observations,principally with the SEASsoftware systems. More than 200ship visits were made in pursuit ofthese duties during 2001. Inaddition, Alaska has three forecastoffices, in Anchorage, Juneau andFairbanks, and ten WeatherService Offices. Forecast Officesissue warnings and forecasts twicedaily with updates. Meteorologistsoccasionally ride ships tofamiliarize themselves with shipoperations in sea conditions. TheWeather Service Offices locatedin Annette Island; Barrow; Bethel;Cold Bay; King Salmon;Kotzebue; McGrath; Nome; St.Paul and Yakutat also visit ships,collect weather observations,furnish training, and providebarometer calibration services.These offices conducted another100 visits in an effort to reach our“at-sea” customer base.

Efforts by the Region to recruitships began in the mid 1970’s. Ms.Peggy Dyson of Kodiak had aninformal grapevine that was usedto pass forecats over HF/SSBradio and collect reports with atsea conditions. Afterward, shewould type the observations andsend them over landlines to theForecast offices. Later, this effortwas expanded to other NationalWeather Service Offices. In 1999,tests were conducted by WeatherService Office Kodiak to reportlimited amounts of data in theship’s synoptic code. The shift touse the synoptic code was neededto modernize the reporting process.It allowed this valuable source ofinformation directly into modelanalyses and integrated into thevarious office display equipmentused in the NWS Forecast Offices.Initially, the vessels only called ondata for pressure, wind, sea heightand air temperature. The resultwas a resounding success, with theMarine Prediction Center andWorld Meteorological Organizationgetting approximately 3000 shipobservations in a region normallyvoid of reports. In 2000, effortswere sought by the Alaska MarineProgram Manager, Mr. GregMatzen, to secure a programmer tohelp automate the reporting pro-cess. Ms. Rose Cunningham, aprogrammer in the Alaskan Region

Rich CourtneyPMO WSO Kodiak, Alaska



HQ, was assigned the task ofdeveloping a software programthat would encode data reported ina limited format. The task receivedtechnical assistance in scope anddesign from the author in Kodiak.While the SEAS software wasdesigned for use by one vessel andreport via Satellite, the BBXXencoder was designed to reportmultiple ship reports throughlandlines. During 2000 and 2001,some 9500 and 12,000 ship obser-vations were encoded and trans-mitted to the Marine PredictionCenter respectively. These obser-vations ranged from SE Alaska’sinner channels to the Bering Seaand across the north slope ofAlaska in the Beaufort Sea.

With the advent of the SEAS 2000software, an effort was started tocollect ship observations directlyfrom the vessels involved withreporting the weather. Smallervessels, such as tugs and fishingvessels are equipped with an e-mail capability that allowsmessages to be sent via Inmarsat-C. However, the message has tobe in ASCII text. The new SEASsoftware has this capabilityincorporated into this. To exploitthis capability, an e-mail addresswas established in Alaska RegionHQ to accept the reports. Theyare then sent to Marine PredictionCenter via landline. In May 2001Mr. Michael Daigler, Chief Mateaboard the tug Northern Spirit,and the author discussed a varietyof ways to increase the number ofreports directly to forecasters inAlaskan waters. The new SEASsoftware was mentioned, includingthe fact that the NWS was looking

for a tug to test this capability.Michael asked to have the softwaresent to him on a CD, along with theaccompanying text for takingobservations. Installation andtraining was conducted over thephone and placed on Michael’s

personal laptop. Observations weretaken, encoded and sent throughInmarsat-C using the ship’s accountwith Stratosmobile. Mr. Daiglercontinued sending one observation aday for the remainder of the month,giving him a direct communicationwith the forecasters in the JuneauForecast Office. Northern Spirit’sobservations took on a great deal ofimportance, as the tug spendsnearly all it’s time in the innerchannels of Southeast Alaska, fromKetchikan to Haines. In these tightand congested waters, the

topography of the land greatlyinfluences the weather conditions,especially the wind direction andspeed as well as sea conditions.The following month Mr. BernieMeier, Master of the CrowleyMarine Services tug Sinuk, was

headed to the northern coast ofAlaska in support of the resupplyeffort of the oil industry. Sinukand several more Crowley tugsprovided a constant stream ofdata of North Slope weatherconditions.

Observations from smallercoastal craft have also providedmany benefits. The smaller crafttend to move outside the shippinglanes providing valuable data inthese isolated coastal areas.These vessels tend to be locatedwithin 30 feet of the water’s

Northern Spirit receives award - Superior VOSPerformance.


surface and provide a closer viewof the sea and swell heights.Working in the near coastal zonealso provides valuable informationon the topographic effects thatterrain has on the weatherconditions.

As the saying goes, “You can’t domuch about the weather excepttalk about it” and that’s just whatthe coastal shipping in Alaska isdoing. Plans for the future includeadditional vessels from the towing,ferry, fishing industries and oil andgas platforms to keep an eye onthe Alaskan weather.


Tug SINUK

Northern Spirit



Captain Douglas Lefebvre of theCSX Anchorage received theAlaska Marine Program Award ofExcellence while at the Port ofAnchorage on November 27, 2001.The CSX Anchorage is a Top 10ship. They have made the 4thhighest total of observations inAlaskan waters for both Octoberwith 92,and for the first 10 monthsof 2001 with 565.

The crew of the CSX Anchoragewas presented with an Award ofExcellence while in the port ofAnchorage, Alaska onNovember 6, 2001. Picturedfrom left to right are: Cadet JimCarmany III, 3rd Mate FredKoster, and 2nd Mate WilliamJohnson.

Captain Richard Swain (left) and Chief Mate Steve Iltich (right)of the Crowley Tug Warrior while at the Port of Anchorage onNovember 21, 2001.

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National Weather Service Voluntary Observing Ship Program

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U.S. Port MeteorologicalOfficers

Headquarters

David McShaneVoluntary Observing Ship Technical LeaderNational Data Buoy CenterBuilding 1100, Room 353AStennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000Tel: 228-688-1768Fax: 228-688-3153E-mail: [email protected]

Robert A. LukeVoluntary Observing Ship Program LeaderNational Data Buoy CenterBuilding 1100, Room 353DStennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000Tel: 228-688-1457Fax: 228-688-3153E-mail: [email protected]

Atlantic Ports

Robert Drummond, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA2550 Eisenhower Blvd, Suite 312P.O. Box 165504Port Everglades, FL 33316Tel: 954-463-4271Fax: 954-462-8963E-mail: [email protected]

Lawrence Cain, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA13701 Fang RoadJacksonville, FL 32218-7933Tel: 904-741-5186Fax: 904-741-0078E-mail: [email protected]

Peter Gibino, PMO, NorfolkNational Weather Service, NOAA4034-B G. Washington HighwayYorktown, VA 23692-2724Tel: 757-877-1692Fax: 757-877-9561E-mail: [email protected]

James Saunders, PMONational Weather Service, NOAAMaritime Center I, Suite 2872200 Broening HighwayBaltimore, MD 21224-6623Tel: 410-633-4709Fax: 410-633-4713E-mail: [email protected]

Tim Kenefick, PMO, New York/New JerseyNational Weather Service, NOAA110 Lower Main Street, Suite 201South Amboy, NJ 08879-1367Tel: 732-316-5409Fax: 732-316-7643E-mail: [email protected]

Great Lakes Ports

Amy Seeley, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA333 West University Dr.Romeoville, IL 60446-1804Tel: 815-834-0600 Ext. 269Fax: 815-834-0645E-mail: [email protected]

George Smith, PMONational Weather Service, NOAAHopkins International AirportCleveland, OH 44135Tel: 216-265-2374Fax: 216-265-2371E-mail: [email protected]

Gulf of Mexico Ports

John Warrelmann, PMONational Weather Service, NOAANew Orleans International AirportBox 20026New Orleans, LA 70141Tel: 504-589-4839E-mail: [email protected]

National Weather Service, NOAAHouston Area Weather Office1620 Gill RoadDickinson, TX 77539-3409Tel: 281-534-2640 Ext. 277Fax: 281-337-3798

Pacific Ports

Derek LeeLoyOcean Services Program CoordinatorNational Weather Service Pacific RegionHQGrosvenor Center, Mauka Tower737 Bishop Street, Suite 2200Honolulu, HI 96813-3201Tel: 808-532-6439Fax: 808-532-5569E-mail: [email protected]

Robert Webster, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA501 West Ocean Blvd., Room 4480Long Beach, CA 90802-4213Tel: 562-980-4090Fax: 562-980-4089E-mail: [email protected]

Robert Novak, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA1301 Clay Street, Suite 1190NOakland, CA 94612-5217Tel: 510-637-2960Fax: 510-637-2961E-mail: [email protected]

Patrick Brandow, PMONational Weather Service, NOAA7600 Sand Point Way, N.E.BIN C15700Seattle, WA 98115-6349Tel: 206-526-6100Fax: 206-526-4571 or 6094E-mail: [email protected]

Richard CourtneyNational Weather Service, NOAA600 Sandy Hook Street, Suite 1Kodiak, AK 99615-6814Tel: 907-487-2102Fax: 907-487-9730E-mail: [email protected]

Lynn Chrystal, OICNational Weather Service, NOAABox 427Valdez, AK 99686-0427Tel: 907-835-4505Fax: 907-835-4598E-mail: [email protected]

Larry HubbleNational Weather Service Alaska Region222 West 7th Avenue #23Anchorage, AK 99513-7575Tel: 907-271-5135Fax: 907-271-3711E-mail: [email protected]

SEAS FieldRepresentatives

GOOS Center ManagerSteve Cook8604 La Jolla Shores DriveLa Jolla, CA 92037-1508Tel: 858-546-7103Fax: 619-546-7185E-mail: [email protected]

Meteorological Services

Meteorological Services—Observations



GOOS StaffJohn Steger, LCDRAOML/GOOS Center4301 Rickenbacker CausewayMiami, FL 33149-1026Tel: 305-361-4356Fax: 305-361-4366E-mail: [email protected]

Northeast Atlantic SEAS Rep.Jim FarringtonSEAS Logistics/AMC439 West York StreetNorfolk, VA 23510Tel: 757-441-3062Fax: 757-441-6495E-mail: [email protected]

Pacific Northwest SEAS Rep.Bob DeckerSEAS Logistics/PMC7600 Sand Point Way, NE, Bin C15700Seattle, WA 98115-0700Tel: 206-526-4280Fax: 206-526-4281E-mail: [email protected]

Southwest Pacific SEAS Rep.Carrie WolfeSouthern California Marine Institute820 S. Seaside AvenueSan Pedro, Ca 90731-7330Tel: 310-519-3181Fax: 310-519-1054E-mail: [email protected]

Southeast Atlantic SEAS Rep.Ann-Marie WilburnAOML/GOSO Center4301 Rickenbacker CausewayMiami, FL 33149-1026Tel: 305-361-4336Fax: 305-361-4366E-mail: [email protected]

Gobal Drifter ProgramCraig EnglerAOML/PHOD4301 Rickenbacker CausewayMiami, FL 33149-1026Tel: 305-361-4439Fax: 305-361-4366E-mail: [email protected]

NIMA Fleet Liaisons

Joe Schruender, East Coast Fleet LiaisonChristopher G. Janus, West Coast FleetLiaisonATTN: GIMM (MS D-44)4600 Sangamore RoadBethesda, MD 20816-5003Tel: 301-227-3120Fax: 301-227-4211E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard AMVERCenter

Richard T. KenneyAMVER Maritime Relations OfficerUnited States Coast GuardBattery Park BuildingNew York, NY 10004Tel: 212-668-7764Fax: 212-668-7684E-mail: [email protected]

Other Port MeteorologicalOfficers

Australia

Head OfficeMarine Observations UnitBureau of Meteorology150 Lonsdale Street, 7th FloorMelbourne, VIC 3000Tel: +613 9669 4651Fax: +613 9669 4168E-mail: [email protected]

MelbourneMichael J. Hills, Port Meteorological AgentVictoria Regional OfficeBureau of Meteorology150 Lonsdale Street, 26th FloorMelbourne, VIC 3000Tel: +613 9669 4982Fax: +613 9663 4957E-mail: [email protected]

FremantleMalcolm Young, Port Meteorological AgentMalMet Services Pty LtdUnit 3/76 Gardner StreetCOMO WA 6152Tel: +618 9474 1974Fax: +618 9260 8475E-mail: [email protected]

SydneyCaptain Einion E. (Taffy) Rowlands, PMANSW Regional OfficeBureau of Meteorology, Level 15300 Elizabeth StreetSydney NSW 2000Tel:+612 9296 1547Fax: +612 9296 1648E-mail: [email protected]

Canada

Randy Sheppard, PMOMeteorological Service of Canada16th Floor, 45 Aldernay DriveDartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 2N6Tel: 902-426-6703E-mail: [email protected]

Jack Cossar, PMOMeteorological Service of Canada6 Bruce StreetSt. John’s, Newfoundland A1N 4T3Tel: 709-722-4798Fax: 709-722-5097E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Riley, PMOMeteorological Service of Canada700-1200 West 73rd AvenueVancouver, British Columbia V6P 6H9Tel: 604-664-9136Fax: 604-664-9195E-mail: [email protected]

Ron Fordyce, Supt. Marine Data UnitRick Shukster, PMORoland Kleer, PMOMeteorological Service of CanadaPort Meteorological Office100 East Port Blvd.Hamilton, Ontario L8H 7S4Tel: 905-312-0900Fax: 905-312-0730E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]@ec.gc.ca

Richard Dupuis, PMOMeteorological Service of Canada100 Alexis Nihon Blvd., 3rd FloorVille St. Laurent, Quebec H4M 2N8

China

YU ZhaoguoShanghai Meteorological Bureau166 Puxi RoadShanghai, China

Denmark

Commander Lutz O. R. NiegschPMO, Danish Meteorological Inst.Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100Copenhagen, DenmarkTel: +45 39157500Fax: +45 39157300



United Kingdom

HeadquartersCapt. E. J. O’SullivanMarine Observations Manager, Met. OfficeObservations Supply - Marine NetworksBeaufort ParkEasthampstead, WokinghamBerkshire RG40 3DNTel: +44-1344 85-5723Fax: +44-1344 85-5873Email: [email protected]

Bristol ChannelCaptain A Maytham MM, FRMetS, PGCEMet OfficePort Met Officer - Bristol ChannelTitan House Rm 107Cardiff Bay Business CentreLewis RoadCardiff. CF24 5BSTel: +44 (0) 29 2045 1323Fax:+44 (0) 29 2045 1326E-mail: [email protected]

East EnglandCaptain John Steel, PMOCustoms Building, Albert DockHull HU1 2DPTel: +44 01482 320158Fax: +44 01482 328957

Northeast EnglandCaptain Gordon Young, PMOAble House, Billingham Reach Ind. EstateBillingham, Cleveland TS23 lPXTel: +44 0642 560993Fax:+44 0642 562170

Northwest EnglandColin B. Attfield, PMORoom 331, Royal Liver BuildingLiverpool L3 1JHTel:+44 0151 236 6565Fax: +44 0151 227 4762

Scotland and Northern IrelandCaptain Peter J. Barratt, PMONavy Buildings, Eldon StreetGreenock, Strathclyde PA16 7SLTel: +44 01475 724700Fax: +44 01475 892879

Southeast EnglandCaptain Harry H. Gale, PMOTrident House, 21 Berth, Tilbury DockTilbury, Essex RM18 7HLTel: +44 01385 859970Fax: +44 01375 859972

Southwest EnglandCaptain James M. Roe, PMO8 Viceroy House, Mountbatten BusinessCentreMillbrook Road EastSouthampton SO15 lHYTel: +44 023 8022 0632Fax: +44 023 8033 7341France

Yann Prigent, PMOStation Mét., Noveau SemaphoreQuai des Abeilles, Le HavreTel: +33 35422106Fax: +33 35413119

P. CoulonStation Météorologiquede Marseille-Port12 rue Sainte Cassien13002 MarseilleTel: +33 91914651 Ext. 336

Germany

Volker Weidner, PMODeutscher WetterdienstMet. HafendienstPostfach 70 04 2122004 HamburgTel: 040 3190 8826

Volker Weidner, PMOPeter Gollnow, PMOHorst von Bargen, PMODeutscher WetterdienstJenfelder Allee 70a22043 HamburgTel: +49 40 66901411Fax: +49 40 66901496E-mail: [email protected]

Henning Hesse, PMODeutscher WetterdienstAn de Neuen Schleuse27570 BremerhavenTel: +49 471 7004018Fax: +49 471 7004017E-mail: [email protected]

Ulrich Ranke, PMODeutscher WetterdienstFlughafendamm 4528199 BremenTel: +49 421 5372163Fax: +49 421 5372166E-mail: [email protected]

Christel Heidner, OMPChristine Bergs, PMODeutscher WetterdienstSeestr. 15a18119 RostockTel: +49 381 5438830Fax: +49 381 5438863E-mail: [email protected]

Greece

George E. Kassimidis, PMOPort Office, PiraeusTel: +301 921116Fax: +3019628952

Hong Kong

C. F. Wong, PMOHong Kong Observatory134A Nathan RoadKowloon, Hong KongTel: +852 2926 3113Fax: +852 2311 9448E-mail: [email protected]

Israel

Hani Arbel, PMOHaifa PortTel: 972 4 8664427

Aharon Ofir, PMOMarine DepartmentAshdod PortTel: 972 8 8524956

Japan

HeadquartersKanno YoshiakiMarine Div., Climate and Marine Dept.Japan Meteorological Agency1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-kuTokyo, 100-8122 JapanFax: +03-3211-6908Email: [email protected]

Utsunomiya Tadayoshi, PMOKobe Marine Observatory1-4-3, Wakinohamakaigan-Dori, Chuo-kuKobe, 651-0073 JapanFax: +078-222-8946

Yazawa Yasushi, PMONagoya Local Meteorological Observatory2-18, Hiyoricho, Chigusa-kuNagoya, 464-0039 JapanFax: +052-762-1242

Uwabe Willy, PMOYokohama Local Met. Observatory99 Yamate-cho, Naka-kuYokohama, 231-0862 JapanFax: +045-622-3520

Kenya

Ali J. Mafimbo, PMOPO Box 98512Mombasa, KenyaTel: +254 1125685Fax: +254 11433440


Malaysia

NG Kim LaiAssistant Meteorological OfficerMalaysian Meteorological ServiceJalan Sultan, 46667 PetalingSelangor, Malaysia

Mauritius

Mr. S RagoonadenMeteorological ServicesSt. Paul Road, Vacoas, MauritiusTel: +230 6861031Fax: +230 6861033

Netherlands

Jan Schaap, PMOKNMI, Afd. WM/OWPort Meteorological OfficePostbus 2013730 AE De Bilt, NetherlandsTel: +3130-2206391Fax: +3130-2210849E-mail: [email protected]

New Zealand

Julie Fletcher, MMOMetService New Zealand Ltd.P.O. Box 722Wellington, New ZealandTel: +644 4700789Fax: +644 4700772

Norway

Tor Inge Mathiesen, PMONorwegian Meteorological InstituteAllegaten 70, N-5007Bergen, NorwayTel: +475 55236600Fax: +475 55236703

Poland

Jozef Kowalewski,PMOInstitute of Meteorology and Water Mgt.Maritime Branchul.Waszyngtona 42, 81-342 Gdynia PolandTel: +4858 6205221Fax: +4858 6207101E-mail: kowalews@stratus/imgw.gdynia.pl

Saudi Arabia

Mahmud Rajkhan, PMONational Met. Environment CentreEddahTel:+ 9662 6834444 Ext. 325

Singapore

Edmund Lee Mun San, PMOMeteorological Service, PO Box 8Singapore Changi AirportSingapore 9181Tel: +65 5457198Fax: +65 5457192

South Africa

C. Sydney Marais, PMOc/o Weather OfficeCapt Town International Airport 7525Tel: + 2721-934-0450 Ext. 213Fax: +2721-934-3296

Gus McKay, PMOMeteorological OfficeDurban International Airpot 4029Tel: +2731-422960Fax: +2731-426830

Mnikeli NdabambiAssistant Director, Meteorological TrainingSouth African Weather BureauTel: +2712-309-3090Fax: +2712-323-4518E-mail: [email protected]

Sweden

Morgan ZinderlandSMHIS-601 76 Norrköping, SwedenTel: 516-924-0499 (0227)


In this Issue:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Data Buoy CenterBuilding 1100, Room 353DStennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000Attn: Mariners Weather Log

Address Correction Requested SpecialOFFICIAL BUSINESS Standard RatePENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300

Edmund Fitzgerald Remembered ............................................................ 4

The Beatrice Hurricane ........................................................................... 12

Seventeenth Century Seafarer, William Dampier.................................... 16

VOS Climate Project ................................................................................ 24

New Great Lakes Weather Station .......................................................... 79

Mariners Weather Log - Voluntary observing ship program · Meteorological Services Observations ......

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