64 



WEATHER 



Oj>]-»ortuiiity is taken to cxjiress tlie apjireciation of the Coast 

 Guard for the s})londid cooj^eration of the Weather Bureau as well 

 as the navv radio station at j\jiington (NAA). The jnitrol A'cssels 

 Avere furnished daily, by the Weather Biu'eau, a s])ecial weather fore- 

 cast for the region in which they were operating — a service of great 

 value to the ])atrol vessels and also to the many vessels jmssing 

 through the ice area. The Weather Bureau, in addition, furnished 

 each patrol vessel a supply of base maj-s on which the meteorological 

 reports, broadcast each morning and evening fj-om NAA (Arlington), 

 could be charted. Besides the regulaf meteorological rej)orts certain 

 supplemental reports were supplied. All of this assistance, com- 

 bined, made it ])ossible for the j)atrol vessels to prepare a weather 

 map twice a day which ])roved invaluable to the commanding officer 

 and the oceanographer in determining future weather conditions 

 and in ])lanning cruises. This method of ])lotting the data and con- 

 structing weather charts is highly ]'ecomm,ended. 



The patrol vessels sent to the Weather Bm-eau twice each day, at 

 8 a. m. and S ]). m. (seventy-fifth meridian time), an observation 

 containing the usual data, surface and intake temperatures. These 

 were coded and sent via Bar Harbor. In addition, weather re]K)rts 

 from vessels were also transmitted and relayed. 



Many requests for weather conditions were received, esj)ecially 

 from vessels coming from the eastward. Tlie information ()})tained 

 from the weather maps, forecasts, and local conditions, were usually 

 broadcast for the benefit of A'essels desiring this data. 



In connection with the forecasts from the Weather Bureau it was 

 noted tJiat at times the forecasts were somewhat premature, that is, 

 the weather j)redicted did not arrive until 18 to 24 hours later than 

 the time anticipated by those forecasts. This discrepancy was due, 

 it is believed, to the many local ''lows" occurring on the Banks 

 unknown to the Weather Bureau and to tJie lack of sufficient meteor- 

 ological data between Bermuda and tJie coast of the United States 

 and lo the northward. As an examj)le of this, the following is cited: 

 The 8 a. m. data of May 1.5 showed a decided curvature or indenta- 

 tion between Nantucket and vSable Island, due evidently to a local 

 '•h)W.'' High barometric ])re.ssures existed at Bermuda ami at our 

 jiosition, under normal conditions, should have brought NE. winds, 

 but tlie ''low" evidently forced itself northeastward and the patrol 

 sliip's banmieter drop|)ed to ."^O.OO, resulting in fog, rain, and SE. 

 breezes. Tliis indentation was still more ]>ronounced in the p. m. 

 data of tlie l.")tli. The forecast ])redicted strong NE. winds and 

 overcast, the nctual conditions were mod(>rate K. to SE. l)reezes 

 witli foir sind lain. 



