NOUS41 KWBC
301448 CCA
PNSWSH
Public
Information Statement, Comment Request
National Weather
Service Headquarters Washington DC
1048 AM EDT Wed
May 30 2012
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather
Information Network
-NOAAPORT
Other NWS Partners and Employees
FROM: Mark Tew
Chief, Marine and Coastal Weather
Services Branch
SUBJECT:
Corrected: Soliciting comments on the Experimental
Enhanced Coastal Waters Forecast Using
Rayleigh
Distribution for Wave Heights through
November 30, 2012
Corrected
secondary contact email to sr-mfl.marine@noaa.gov
NWS is seeking
user comments on the Experimental Enhanced
Coastal Waters
Forecast Using Rayleigh Distribution for Wave
Heights through
November 30, 2012. The NWS Weather Forecast
Office (WFO) in
Miami is testing an experimental enhancement to
its Coastal
Waters Forecast (CWF), additional wave height fields
using the
theoretical Rayleigh Distribution.
Several different
wave statistics can be inferred from this
distribution. Among these, the Significant Wave Height (HS)
and
the average
height of the highest 10 percent of waves (H1/10)
observed at sea,
approximately 1.272 times the significant wave
height.
The current CWF
product provides a forecast range of the
expected HS
across the coastal waters. HS is defined
as the
average height of
the highest 1/3 of the waves. For
example:
TONIGHT...NORTHWEST
WINDS 13 TO 18 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHEAST
16 TO 21
KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET BUILDING TO 4 TO
6 FEET LATE.
DOMINANT PERIOD 6
SECONDS. INTRACOASTAL WATERS CHOPPY IN
EXPOSED
AREAS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
Adding the H1/10
wave height to the CWF product will provide a
more descriptive
and accurate assessment of the wave field
expected for any
particular time across a given marine zone.
User knowledge of
this information could reduce the number of
marine accidents
at sea, saving lives. This new
information
will follow this
template:
HS with
occasional H1/10 SEAS POSSIBLE.
For example:
.TONIGHT...NORTHWEST
WINDS 13 TO 18 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHEAST
16 TO 21
KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL
5 FEET
BUILDING TO 4 TO
6 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL 8 FEET POSSIBLE
LATE. DOMINANT PERIOD 6 SECONDS. INTRACOASTAL WATERS
CHOPPY IN EXPOSED
AREAS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
These additions
will be made available as part of the routine
forecast provided
online at
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/
and broadcast
over NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.
This
information will
not be provided through the point and click
format.
Comments
regarding this enhancement to the CWF can be provided
at:
www.nws.noaa.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=MIAERD
Or send comments
to:
Sr-mfl.marine@noaa.gov
Comments will be
solicited through November 30, 2012. During
this comment
period, a proactive effort will be made to educate
users and
partners of the product availability and use.
At the
end of the
comment period, NWS will decide whether to make WFO
Miami Enhanced
CWF an operational product. At that
time, the
enhanced CWF will
also be evaluated for use at other WFOs and
regions.
For more
information please contact:
Dr. Pablo Santos
Meteorologist in
Charge
National Weather
Service
Miami, FL
33165-2149
305-229-4500
pablo.santos@noaa.gov
National Public
Information Statements are online at:
http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
$$