met data from this buoy now feeding NDBC and the global models

Last week I started a new feed of data to the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) from the two CREWS/CCCCC buoys in the Dominican Republic. These buoys were deployed last December but both went offline about 3 weeks after initial deployment, for different reasons. A recent check-in with these buoys' data streams reveals that they have both been online and transmitting reliable meteorological data for 2-3 months now and therefore they have become good candidates for NDBC feeds.

Once their data have been cleared by NDBC they will be released into the Global Telecommunications Systems (GTS). Once in GTS those data will become visible to national weather services and researchers worldwide, and they may be used in global forecast models such as those used for tropical cyclone forecasts.

The Puerto Plata buoy is located near Puerto Plata on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.  We have been informally referring to it as PPDR1 (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, first station) but as a buoy its official GTS designation is entirely numeric and is assigned according to region.  The PPDR1 buoy's official designation will be 41057. Its NDBC home page may be found at the following URL:

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=41057

This link has also been added to the 'Links' section on the right-hand side of this blog.

regards,
Mike J+