NOAA Technology to Support Aviation Safety in the Bahamas
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By noaa.gov.
NOAA has signed an agreement with Sky Miles Limited, a Bahamian company, to develop and install an advanced aviation forecast system. This system will improve flight safety for airlines flying to or through the island nation’s airspace, off the United States southeast coast, and the surrounding Caribbean region.
The collaboration between NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and Sky Miles Limited will also allow NOAA to access additional weather observations from a region of the Atlantic Ocean that often experiences tropical storms before they hit the US mainland. The additional observations will be used in NOAA’s weather models to improve the accuracy of weather and hurricane forecasts. Sky Miles Limited is not associated with Delta Airlines’ SkyMiles frequent flyer program.
“Accurate forecasts are fundamental to aviation safety,” said Steve Thur Ph.D., the assistant administrator for NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. “With roughly 90 percent of visitor arrivals to the Bahamas coming from the United States, this agreement will improve the safety of Americans and others traveling to the Bahamas for business and leisure. We’re gratified to be able to help the Bahamas Aviation, Climate, and Severe Weather Network modernize their meteorological infrastructure. The data they share with us will also help us improve our own forecasts for aviation and the general public.”
About 1.7 million foreign visitors arrived in the Bahamas by air in 2023, according to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.
Under the agreement, Sky Miles Limited will pay NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory $728,000 to install a cloud-based version of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) and Hazard Services application that will provide advanced forecasting and decision tools to forecasters, allowing them to more easily identify aviation in-flight hazards, such as turbulence and thunderstorms.
read more at noaa.gov.
