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Meteorologist holds weather seminar
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Posted on Oct 13 2004
Do you know that “day” in the National Weather Service’s language is not synonymous to “morning?” NWS meteorologists refer to the period between 6am to 6pm as day, while the morning period runs from 6am to noon.
This was just among the several topics tackled by NWS warning coordination meteorologist Charles Guard, who conducted tropical cyclone training for representatives of the CNMI media and the Emergency Management Office.
Guard said the objective of the training is to familiarize the local media with NWS’ products. He recently conducted a similar training on Guam, where some 50 media representatives attended.
Guard discussed the information services offered by the NWS regarding tropical cyclones and other weather disturbance.
“You can make an educated decision when we tell you this [weather forecast],” Guard said.
For instance, Guard discussed the Saffir-Simpson Tropical Cyclone Scale, which relates maximum tropical cyclone surface winds to potential damage and storm surge.
The scale has two categories for tropical storm—weak and severe. A storm falls under the weak and severe categories, respectively, when maximum sustained wind reaches 30-49mph and 50-73mph.
Using the scale, anticipated damage by a weak tropical storm will only be to the “flimsiest lean-to type structure.” It could also cause minor damage to banana and papaya trees, based on the scale.
“Major damage to huts made of thatch or loosely attached corrugated sheet metal or plywood; sheet metal and plywood may become airborne. Minor damage to buildings of light materials,” the scale states on the potential damage by a severe tropical storm.
The scale classifies typhoons into five categories: minimal, with maximum sustained wind of 74-95mph; moderate, 96-110mph; strong, 111-130mph; very strong, 131-155mph; and devastating, 156-194mph.
It also enumerates the potential damage that could be caused by typhoons of varying intensities.
Guard conducted the training at the EMO conference room Tuesday afternoon. He said he would conduct more extensive training for EMO personnel on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The effort is part of enhancing the CNMI’s preparedness to disaster situations.
