Integrating marine weather data, forecasts, and user assessments to upgrade the Marine Weather Portal

Abstract

Regional coastal ocean observing systems, as part of NOAA’s U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) initiative, provide opportunities for increased access to local and regional meteorological and oceanographic data in addition to the data that NOAA and other federal and agencies have been able to provide. One of the challenges faced by IOOS-funded organizations is how to aggregate data from multiple sources in a meaningful way for stakeholders. The Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) members have worked together since 2005 to develop and continuously improve the Marine Weather Portal (MWP, https://mwp.secoora.org a marine weather and forecasting website developed for mariners and coastal communities. The MWP was developed by meteorologists, web designers, data managers, and outreach personnel with SECOORA, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of South Carolina, Second Creek Consulting LLC, and NWS offices in coastal states across the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico. The initial effort, which was the basis for the MWP, was a small-scale project titled the “Carolinas Coast” which launched in 2007. The Carolinas Coast Marine Weather Portal was a customer-centric web interface to marine weather information for North Carolina and South Carolina, which fully covered two National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) coastal domains. The site integrated NWS and non-NWS data (e.g., sub-regional IOOS efforts, National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), Military, National Estuarine Research Reserve System). This “Carolinas Coast” was designed as a “onestop shop” for real-time marine weather and observations in the project area. The MWP project team leveraged the experience and expertise gained with the Carolinas Coast project to create the MWP. Since the team already understood what features and functionalities marine user communities wanted in a marine weather website, the expansion of the coverage area throughout the Southeast was an exercise in scalability. The original MWP was launched in 2009 and aggregated data provided by NOAA NDBC, NWS, National Estuarine Research Reserves, Integrated Ocean Observing System Regional Associations, and other sources into a map-based product specifically developed for the marine community. This new site expanded the coverage from the Carolinas to the southeast and Gulf of Mexico regions and spanned two NWS Regions - the Eastern and Southern Regions. Since 2012, SECOORA has hosted the MWP. In 2016, based on changing data management structures, mapping tools, and NWS products, SECOORA focused on revising the MWP again in order to better meet customer needs. The goals of the 2016 MWP site are to: 1) continue providing 24/7 access to critical marine weather information for the commercial and recreational marine communities in the southeast US and Gulf coast regions; 2) make NOAA and other provider data more widely accessible on one website; and, 3) provide the site in a customizable format which the NWS offices can use for their marine landing page. The MWP allows users to access standardized map-based marine weather pages, color coded active hazards, marine observations, point-and-click coastal waters forecasts, and detailed five-day marine forecasts, among other features. Additionally, during a site visit to NOAA NWS office in Tampa, forecasters requested that the newly developed hurricane products, NWS Active Hurricane Threats and Impacts and NWS Potential Storm Surge Flooding, be added to the site. With the addition of these layers, coastal communities can better prepare for extratropical events. The MWP is an example of software product development grounded in user needs identification and execution. By maintaining contact with users, we were able to refine the product to meet a variety of use cases. The MWP project team has invested in information technology and data management structures which allow for enhanced products robustness and reliability, attributes which are required for customer acceptance. Product development does not stop with the launch of a new website or creation of a new product. IOOS and IOOS Regional Associations must not only invest in data management and software development but also in relationship building. The MWP project team built enduring relationships with our customer base since the early 2000s. This encourages open communication and fosters collaborative and creative thinking as we continue the product evolution process.