The Barbados Meteorological Services (MET Office) is preparing to launch a new vessel to better assist it in detecting and monitoring developing weather systems.
Director of the MET Office, Sabu Best, said they had acquired an Autonaut vessel, and were in the final stages of assembly before it is tested in open waters with the Barbados Coast Guard.
This was disclosed during a recent media tour with acting Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw, Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, at the facility’s Charnocks, Christ Church headquarters.
Mr. Best added that once it was cleared the vessel would be taken to the east of Barbados’ Exclusive Economic Zone. He explained that the Autonaut can deploy at sea for a minimum of three months, or a maximum of six months.
“So, in a situation where a storm is approaching, we can control it remotely and tell it where to go. We can move this vessel and collect data and send it in aerial time. It will be useful with the [hurricane hunter] aircraft and help the aircraft by giving us an idea as to where the centre may or may not be,” he said.
Mr. Best added that the MET Office would also be able to coordinate and communicate with the National Hurricane Centre to look at models and see areas of interest developing, and deploy the vessel to that area to collect the data.
“The model is only as good as what you feed into it. So now you can feed it real data,” he said, noting that three additional vessels were expected to arrive on the island soon.
The Director stated that Barbados was now leading the drive forward for data collection, analysis and reporting, and was the first in the Eastern Caribbean to have such as vessel.
In addition, the MET Office currently has 70 out of a targeted 100 weather stations, with the remainder expected to be in place by yearend.
“This dense network has completely changed our view of what happens in terms of temperature, rainfall, wind. It gives us a different understanding. It opens our eyes to the realities of what is happening at the community level. The ability for us to make the weather stations [means] we can deploy rapidly, service and repair them quickly, [as well as] cut costs. These stations give information in near real time and all over the island,” he explained.
Mr. Best also showed the touring party a digital display sphere, which he said would give a “real world” perspective on how things looked going forward.
Meanwhile, Ms. Bradshaw said she was “very impressed” with Government’s investment of over $6 million in the facility over the last few years.
“It has allowed this body of persons involved in the Meteorological Services to be able to better prepare Barbadians for systems,” she said, stating that it did not mean the meteorologist would be able to predict everything or always get it right.
“But what we have been able to see here is an improvement in the types of data that they are able to collect. There is a lot more to be done that will be rolled out over the next few weeks and months by the MET Office, to improve their ability to get Bajans to understand how serious these systems are and the need for them to prepare during this…season,” the acting Prime Minister said, stressing that climate change was a real phenomenon.