Honolulu NWS to Discontinue WX Legacy Products

[Ino]

The Satellite Interpretation Message (SIM) is to be discontinued on 12-16-2016;
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/sim.php

Notice of discontinuation;
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/notification/...ntinue.htm

I am disappointed that this will be discontinued! I use it extensively in teaching weather. It also is a great resource for weather history.

I had a nice conversation about this today with Tom Evans;
Director of Operations, Weather Forecast Office
Honolulu, Hawaii
IMO the NWS’s position is that we can just go look up the information ourselves. Isn’t all weather info like this? It helps to know how the professionals interpret the info. Isn’t this what the NWS is all about? Interpreting wx info to help us understand what is going on?
We are also going to lose the Pacific Significant Cloud Features chart;
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/graphics/neph.gif
As a STEM teacher here on the BI I can tell you that this is one of the Keiki’s favorites!
I really appreciate the NWS! But I’m worried that if they drop their services that it will be increasingly harder to lobby for their funding. I know that there will be a tremendous fight over NOAA’s budget coming up and it doesn’t help if they’re dropping services.

For a long time there has been a battle in the US government over private wx services and funding a public wx service. We are at this crossroads right now. The NWS needs our support! IMO the NWS should provide us with more, not less original thought.

If you are concerned about losing these services, Please contact Tom Evans at;
Tom Evans
Director of Operations
Honolulu, Hawaii
tom.evans@noaa.gov
808-973-5273
I really appreciate all the services that the NWS provides to us! To me it seems like organizational suicide to eliminate services to the public- also very bad timing! Mahalo Ino

[alaskyn66]

Its always shame when funding is cut to such educational resourses.. How do they expect people to raise the next generation of Meteorologists if they take away the very things that cause the kids to become interested in the field.

[eigoya]

When I lived on the North Slope, the barometric pressure was always reported on the radio with temps,, etc, and I thought it odd that the station never interpreted the meaning. Does everyone know the significance of this low/ high pressure? I had never lived anywhere before where that was regularly mentioned. Anyhow, will write to above as we need to know more, not less about our weather....

[Chas]

For me in Pennsylvania, pressure getting lower usually means rain coming. Rising pressure, nice weather.

[TomK]

Dropping the SIM almost happened a few years ago but there was a bit of an outcry (including MK observatory staff) and it continued, but am not surprised at this news. I hope it stays, it's very useful.

As for forecasts that just provide data with no interpretation, I have to admit I miss the BBC shipping forecast. It's broadcast by the BBC and the midnight radio broadcast was almost required listening when I was growing up. Firstly, the music was nice and then they would give the conditions for various areas surrounding the UK coast. Late at night, it piqued the imagination of what was happening out at sea. The names refer to sectors of the sea around the coast:

https://youtu.be/oguCxlZ94Ho

Then there's Stephen Fry's version:

https://youtu.be/S8_uiiuf-yA