The Coastal Storms Program

CSP Pilot Project 1: St. Johns River watershed of northeast Florida

In the first year of the pilot program, a new data buoy (NDBC Buoy 41012) was deployed off the northeast coast of Florida. Since its establishment in June 2002, this buoy has provided real-time maritime observations which were not previously available. Information gathered by this buoy on ocean winds and wave heights assists mariners and allows forecasters to provide advanced warnings of weather hazards. Additional oceanic sensors have been added to NDBC Coastal Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) sites at Folly Beach, South Carolina and Duck Pier, North Carolina to gather real-time ocean conductivity and temperature data to derive ocean salinity.

This maritime information is also helping to improve two new weather forecast models. The high-resolution weather model is producing 24-hour forecasts four times a day that predict atmospheric variables such as winds, precipitation, and marine visibility. The new model enables forecasters to better predict localized conditions including fog, which can impede mariners and motorists. A second model was developed to forecast waves in nearshore areas. Prior to the Coastal Storms Program, there was not an operational model that covered nearshore areas. This lack of information made it difficult for forecasters to predict wave heights. The oceanic measurements gathered by the Coastal Storms Program buoy are helping to verify the wave model's forecast and suggest methods to improve the model to better predict future marine conditions.

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CSP Pilot Project 2: Coastal Areas of Columbia River in Pacific Northwest

The second Coastal Storms Program pilot project is focused on a portion of the Lower Columbia River and includes the northwest Oregon and southwest Washington coasts. To support the project goal of enhanced meteorological and oceanic observations, a new buoy, NDBC Buoy 46089, was deployed off the coast of Tillamook, Oregon in November 2004. This buoy has provided real-time maritime observations which were not previously available and has been especially helpful in reporting and recording the sea and weather conditions occurring in the extreme winter storms which batter the coastal communities of the western United States.