National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

New Marine Weather Message Bulletin
Begins February 15th at NWS Brownsville

In August 2007, seven Weather Forecast Offices (WFO)s began issuing experimental Marine Weather Message (MWW) bulletins. By early March 2008, a total of 20 WFO's will be issuing the product, including Brownsville, TX. The MWW is intended to better inform mariners of adverse marine weather hazards and serve as a dedicated long duration marine Watch, Warning and Advisory product.

Currently, National Weather Service WFOs issue marine warnings and advisories through headlines contained in the Coastal Waters Forecast (CWF), the Nearshore Marine Forecast (NSH) and the Great Lakes open lake forecast (GLF).  The CWF and NSH contain the operational Valid Time Event Code.   

The MWW bulletin will provide the marine community with more specificity and vital marine hazard information, patterned after the non-precipitation watch/warning/advisory (NPW) bulletin and the winter weather watch/warning/advisory (WSW) bulletin. This experimental product will be issued by WFO Brownsville, beginning February 15th, 2008, for the following suite of marine watch, warning and advisory events:

Marine Watches

• Hurricane Force Wind Watch
• Storm Watch
• Gale Watch
• Hazardous Seas Watch

Marine Warnings

• Hurricane Force Wind Warning
• Storm Warning
• Gale Warning
• Hazardous Seas Warning

Marine Advisories

• Ashfall Advisory
• Dense Fog Advisory
• Dense Smoke Advisory
• Low Water Advisory
• Small Craft Advisory
• Small Craft Advisory for Hazardous Seas
• Small Craft Advisory for Winds

MWW Presentations

• National Marine Program Leaders Meeting
• Partners Meeting June 2007
• MWW WFO Training

Users must add the following product headers to their communications databases to begin receiving the products from WFO Brownsville, TX, and nearby sites in the western Gulf:

More detailed information on the marine weather message product is provided in the product description document posted at: http://www.weather.gov/os/mww/MWW_PDD.pdf

Users of the product are encouraged to provide feedback by using the brief survey and comment form available online at:http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=mww

MWW Example

WHUS74 KBRO DDHHMM
MWWBRO

EXPERIMENTAL...URGENT - MARINE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
300 PM EST WED FEB 13 2008

THIS IS A SAMPLE...THIS IS A SAMPLE...THIS IS A SAMPLE. THIS IS NOT AN ACTIVE HAZARD.

...GALE FORCE WINDS POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT...

.WINDS WILL INCREASE THURSDAY IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTH BEHIND THE FRONT AND INCREASE TO GALE FORCE BY THURSDAY EVENING ACROSS THE OFFSHORE GULF WATERS.

GMZ170-175-140900-
/E.NEW.KBRO.GL.A.0001.080215T0000Z-080215T0900Z/
WATERS FROM PORT MANSFIELD TO THE RIO GRANDE EXTENDING FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
WATERS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT MANSFIELD EXTENDING FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
300 PM EST WED FEB 13 2008

...GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A GALE WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN QUICKLY OVERNIGHT. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO NORTH AFTER 3 PM...THEN INCREASE TO 30 TO 35 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO 40 KNOTS BY SUNSET ACROSS THE WATERS BEYOND 20 NM OUT. THESE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR MOST OF THURSDAY NIGHT.

SEAS WILL BUILD TO 9 TO 12 FEET BY MID EVENING THURSDAY...WHICH WILL CREATE VERY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE NIGHT.

<INSTRUCTION>

A GALE WATCH MEANS SUSTAINED WINDS OR FREQUENT GUSTS TO 34 TO 47 KNOTS ARE POSSIBLE...BUT THE AREA AND DURATION OF GALE FORCE WINDS STILL UNCERTAIN. MARINERS ARE URGED PREPARE NOW FOR GALE FORCE WINDS AND SHOULD CONSIDER REMAINING IN PORT.

</END INSTRUCTION>

$$

THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT INCLUDE INFORMATION ON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES. SEE PRODUCTS SUCH AS SPECIAL MARINE WARNINGS... MARINE WEATHER STATEMENTS...WATCH COUNTY NOTIFICATIONS AND THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK

More details on the Marine Weather Warning Product Specification can be found in the draft NWS policy directive.

Current MWW products

Please drop us a line to comment on the new MWW product! Send your feedback to:

Barry Goldsmith
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
National Weather Service Brownsville, TX
(956)-504-1631 ext. 223

If you have additional questions on the MWW bulletin, contact: