Marine Weather Hazards Workshop 2024

2024 Mariners’ Weather Hazards Workshop

A large team led by the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) and the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB), and assisted by NWS Headquarters, regions, and WFOs, hosted the Mariner’s Weather Hazards Workshop in College Park at NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) facility. Leaders from NWS, our international federal marine weather centers, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and the commercial shipping and marine weather providers were in attendance.

Picture 1: Melinda Bailey, NWS Marine Program Manager, promoting Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day

Held from April 16–18, the workshop was geared toward a wide spectrum of marine users, from the tropics to the Arctic. Meteorologists gained a deeper understanding of the needs of the marine community, and mariners learned more about the products and services provided by the NWS marine offices. This was the latest in a series of workshops first held at NHC and now being hosted each year alternatively at OPC or NHC.

The agenda covered a wide variety of topics, including sea ice and freezing spray issues, extratropical cyclone climatology, tropical cyclone forecasting, impacts to mariners, and general marine forecasting. Over 200 individuals attended the workshop in person and virtually, including several representatives from the international community, such as Canada, Argentina, Denmark, Iceland, the Bahamas, and Portugal. 

The workshop was highly successful. Customer comments included: “10 out of 10,” “Trip across the Atlantic was well worth my while,” “Best conference combining virtual and in person I've been to,” “Great team,” “Great teamwork,” and many others. The Chief of the Argentine Navy Weather Service wrote, “It was a pleasure to assist virtually to the Mariners Weather Hazards Workshop. All the presentations were very interesting. As Chief of the Argentine Navy Weather Service, I thank you for the event.” Another customer representing the industry wrote, “I just wanted to thank you all very much for an outstanding workshop!  Having hosted workshops on a smaller scale, I realize how much planning and coordination must have gone into a much larger one as this. So, THANK YOU sincerely!”

OPC’s Director A.J. Reiss noted, “We can’t overemphasize how ‘touch points’ with real souls at sea who use and appreciate NWS products and services for better decision making help motivate all of us to keep at it, at our best. It really completes the forecast cycle for us.”

The next workshop is planned at the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch in 2025.

Picture 2: In person attendees at the workshop