PROGRAMS

On April 9th, Al Sandrik from the Jacksonville office of the National Weather Service presented a very informative program on the weather "products" available in our area. Mr. Sandrik told us where and how the office collects the data to prepare the weather reports we hear on channel 1, and he also explained the different emphasis of different reports. For example, a "special marine warning" forecasts a potentially hazardous over-water event of short duration (up to 2 hours). A "marine weather statement" provides information on non-severe conditions, such as fog. Mr. Sandrik provided the addresses for web sites of interest to boaters, including the Jacksonville NWS office, the National Weather Service, and the National Weather Site . He also told us that there will be a new weather buoy off St. Augustine in the near future - Buoy 41012. Using the Dial-a-Buoy program, boaters will be able to get a real-time weather observations by calling 228-688-1948 and entering the 5-digit buoy indentifier.