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DAILY ICE BROADCASTS TO SHIPPING 



WEATHER 



Meteorological conditions over the Ice Patrol area are important 

 to the Patrol vessel. It is necessary to know the coming weather in 

 advance for several reasons: (1) in order to plan the scouting opera- 

 tions for the next day or two; (2) in predicting berg drifts; and (3) in 

 answering requests for weather conditions and in advising vessels as 

 to safe courses to follow. To supply this information two weather 

 maps are constructed each day from data supplied by the Marine- 

 Angot weather bulletin broadcast from Arlington radio. In order 

 to make the synoptic situation as detailed as possible, within the 

 Ice Patrol area, these data are supplemented by weather reports from 

 vessels in the vicinity, whenever available. In planning scouting it 

 is important to know the approximate time that fog, low visibility 

 such as rain or snow, will arrive and when high winds may be expected. 

 The Patrol vessel must at these times be in the vicinity of the southern- 

 most or most dangerous iceberg and not 50 or 100 miles away and 

 unable to return because of weather conditions. Long periods of 

 strong winds or gales affect the drift of icebergs considerably and the 

 areas of these high winds are sometimes restricted and the wind force 

 and direction may vary greatly from place to place over the area. 

 These differences show up on the weather maps. It is necessary to 

 have a complete synoptic picture in order to give accurate and de- 

 tailed information concerning present conditions in any particular; 

 area or coming weather for any general area. 



It must be borne in mind in interpreting the average temperatures! 

 given below that the Ice Patrol area is a region of sharp contrasts duel 

 to the juxtaposition of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the! 

 cold waters of the Labrador Current. Also the region lies in the 

 average track of all North Atlantic storms and the weather is there-; 

 fore excessively boisterous. The Patrol vessel, itself, constantly' 

 on the move as it is, passes from cold water to warm and vice versa, i 

 with consequent rapid changes in temperature; and from cold fog to 

 warm clear weather, and its average position varies considerably from 

 year to year depending on the distribution of the ice. For these 



