Accurate Weather Data Imperative to Marine Transportation
by Noah Niday, Deputy Branch Pilot The safe navigation of a ship through a confined and perilous waterway requires accurate environmental data so that maneuvering tactics can be employed to keep the ship safe during its transit. The pilot has to have accurate wind data to know how the ship might be effected during the transit. After researching multiple commercial grade weather stations, we chose to purchase from Columbia Weather Systems because it seemed like the best combination of commercial-grade durability, accuracy of info, and usability for accessing the data on the go. [The Brazos Pilots chose an Orion Weather Station with WeatherMaster™ Software and the Weather MicroServer™ so pilots can access the environmental data through the CWS Weather Monitor App on their mobile phones. They also purchased a Universal Mounting Arm to install the weather station on an existing tower.] The most used set of real-time data from the station is the wind speed and direction. Utilizing c
