Forecasting Ocean Weather

The science of predicting daily weather is something upon which millions, if not billions of people depend on to determine the measures of precaution they should undertake before setting foot outside their door each day. Listening to morning weather reports is a practise that has become habitual to many Canadians, especially during the winter and stormy months of the year. Less commonly know is the science and practise of predicting ocean weather, a service upon which many ocean-goers see as an essential part of their daily weather forecast. Just as with the atmospheric weather, moving currents, changing temperatures, and cold and warm fronts are issues that change every day in the oceans, except of course they deal with water and not air. At the same time, the ocean has its own rather unique set of conditions. Tides caused by the gravitation pull of the moon for one create additional currents and change the depth of the water. Storm surges caused by low pressure atmospheric systems (hurricanes, tropical storms, etc.) raise water levels above normal height and threaten coastal regions with flooding. And last, but definitely not least, varying amounts wind cause swells to form. These swells upon reaching land buildup and crash upon shore in the form of waves, a source of entertainment for both on-shore observers, and in-water participants. These are of course the bodyboarders, surfers, windsurfers, kite-surfers, etc. of whom I am speaking, and it is these people (among others) who observe the ocean forecasts for incoming storms that bring the waves, either big or small depending on their sport and skill level, that they so desire.

On the right side of the screen I have added a widget that shows the current forecast for swell conditions at two commonly visited beaches in Nova Scotia. Detailed forecasts are available by clicking.

The fact that these are merely forecasts and so predictions is comparable to the atmospheric weather predictions - the forecasts are subject to great change right up until the time of their arrival.