ABSTRACT
Weather affects safety and performance of vessels, cargo and seafarers. The application of powerful computers and high speed communications networks have led to the establishment of Numerical Weather Prediction which has transformed meteorology and underpins ‘Big Data’ services. Forecast accuracy has greatly improved and weather forecasts are now some 20% more accurate than they were only 5 years ago. However weather remains the biggest cause of total loss of ships and for the first time, many mariners are being exposed to computer generated weather forecasts which have been produced without vetting by meteorologists. This short paper is intended to provide an introduction to Numerical Weather Prediction for mariners, so that when they are being presented with NWP whether as part of a ‘Big Data’ service or on the bridge, that they will be prepared.
