Just Maybe a Stupid Questions But...

[DAKRA]

My family and I are sitting back monitoring the progress of the Hurricanes (Gustav and Hanna) and had a question that none of us could answer. I know this just may be a stupid question, but we thought we would ask anyway:

How does the Cuban Government get is official information regarding these and similiar storms? - Do they have sofisticated weather stations and staff to predict and track these storms? ----- OR do they rely on information provided to them by U.S. Agencies like NOAA and the NHC?

After doing some research, we found that the U.S. Air Force is the only agency/country in the region who regularly flies Hurricane Hunter Aircraft directly into these storms to gather data relating to the storms.

Just wondering if Cuba and other countries in the Carribean rely soley on data provided by the U.S. Agencies or do they have something else and if so, then what?

Thanks to those who reply with answers versus criticism.

Obviously our hearts and prayers go out to all the Cuban people and for that matter all of those countries who have and will be affected by these dangerous storms.

:ermm:

 

[mike l]

My family and I are sitting back monitoring the progress of the Hurricanes (Gustav and Hanna) and had a question that none of us could answer. I know this just may be a stupid question, but we thought we would ask anyway:

How does the Cuban Government get is official information regarding these and similiar storms? - Do they have sofisticated weather stations and staff to predict and track these storms? ----- OR do they rely on information provided to them by U.S. Agencies like NOAA and the NHC?

After doing some research, we found that the U.S. Air Force is the only agency/country in the region who regularly flies Hurricane Hunter Aircraft directly into these storms to gather data relating to the storms.

Just wondering if Cuba and other countries in the Carribean rely soley on data provided by the U.S. Agencies or do they have something else and if so, then what?

Thanks to those who reply with answers versus criticism.

Obviously our hearts and prayers go out to all the Cuban people and for that matter all of those countries who have and will be affected by these dangerous storms.

:ermm:

Chris, The DR1 monitor is an expert in this field and he should respond soon enough.

 

[sokitoumi]

i believe chris is a lady.......maybe we should start having different coloured names

 

[Robert]

They have the Internet like 99% of the world

 

[mike l]

i believe chris is a lady.......maybe we should start having different coloured names

That explains allot

 

[DAKRA]

They have the Internet like 99% of the world

No doubt they they along with the rest of the world have access to the internet, but do you really think that is all that they rely on for major weather formations? Nothing on their own? :surprised

If the internet is all that they have and use, then I guess you answered my question that they rely and deplend on agencies like NOAA and the NHC for their data, forecasts, warnings, and advisories. :nervous:

 

[Bayx-**]

They have the Internet like 99% of the world

What did use before there was no Internet?

 

[DominicanBilly]

No doubt they they along with the rest of the world have access to the internet, but do you really think that is all that they rely on for major weather formations? Nothing on their own? :surprised

If the internet is all that they have and use, then I guess you answered my question that they rely and deplend on agencies like NOAA and the NHC for their data, forecasts, warnings, and advisories. :nervous:

Why would they need to relay on anything else. I'm sure they need nothing on their own to get the information required to forecast the weather patterns.

Having been there numerous times I'm sure any resources they have as far as satellite and recon information is for the military use any way.

 

[Lambada]

Nothing on their own? :surprised

Of course Cuba has its own meteorological service & some of the best trained meteorologists in the world. They have a met centre in each of the 14 provinces & 68 met stations connected by intranet; some 400 meteorologists of whom 30 have Ph.D's & 80 have Masters' degrees in the subject.

For the last 30 years the professional meteorologists of both US & Cuba have been actively co-operating (some Cuban mets. train in US), unlike in 1900 when Cuban meteorologists tried to warn U.S. weather officials of the danger of a hurricane that was moving into the Gulf of Mexico. Their predictions were dismissed by the Americans and the storm killed at least 8,000 people in Galveston, Texas, according to Erik Larson, author of 'Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History.'

Comments about Cuba's satellite resources being only for military purposes are simply ill informed. Cuba has pumped a lot of money into this including recently after the 2004 hurricanes Charley & Ivan. They have 8 modern radar systems & are one of the more advanced Latin American countries for meteorology development alongside Argentina & Brazil.

INSMET Instituto de Meteorolog?a de la Republica de Cuba website is here:
Instituto de Meteorolog?a, Inicio

Yes they receive US projections, also Canadian & European. For more info:
Medicc Review -

Medicc Review -

FOXNews.com - Cuba and U.S. Cooperate on Forecasting - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

They also have extremely good disaster preparedness programmes as the Oxfam Report noted in the third link above described.

It wasn't a stupid question DAKRA but of course it was one which had the possibility for people to display their blinkered perception.:cheeky:

 

[Lapurr]

It's an excellent question, i often wonder about that, in my own non expert opinion, i believe they all solely rely on the US.

Thailands tsunami was regiserested by US and monitored by US.

Thanks Lambada for filling us in.

 

[MikeFisher]

the disaster preparedness system including evacuation times/way to organize and run such, Cuba is on a 10 times higher standard than the US, not to talk about the meds which are a world top notch class.
they have top high tech radar stations providing accurate actual shots of any movement within the danger area of Cuba and they have their well trained and long trem experienced analysts to know what formation could bring what danger.
Hurricane Hunter flights are as far as my knowledge only done by the US, their data is accessible not only by the public, the Desaster/Hurricane aso departments of the caribbean countries including the US work together on their Data exchange since a long time and improve their accuracy on predictions together that way.
natural catastrophes don't have borders, they don't care about a elected stupid president or such.
Gustav passed with his center as a mayor hurricane the Cuban West where near to the east of his path in the middle of heaviest thunderstorms Cuban high populated areas are located, and til know it looks like they did again a great job in predicting what's coming up and bringing their people to save spots.
actually i hope that the US is doing a similar preventive job for the gulf coast, specially the low located New Orleans area.
Gustav got slowed down a lot but is still more than several areas can take.
all the best to everybody on it's path
Mike

 

[DAKRA]

Good Stuff!

Thanks everyone! - I knew that the answers were out there. In no way did I doubt that the Cuban's did not have what it takes. They live with this stuff all the time and are excellent! -

Hope everyone stays safe.

 

[Chris]

...
Hurricane Hunter flights are as far as my knowledge only done by the US, their data is accessible not only by the public, the Desaster/Hurricane aso departments of the caribbean countries including the US work together on their Data exchange since a long time and improve their accuracy on predictions together that way.

Cuba gives the US overfly rights for their hurricane hunters. There is no fight between the US weather people and the Cuban weather people. They work together.

 

[MikeFisher]

exactly my point Chris.
the received Data is nothing like a secret or such,
it is shared all over without exceptions.
my point been in regards to "when which plane for which area in danger" will be used, and that's of course a US decision and US interests to investigate a system far of the US coast or not even expected to go there, are low.
it costs their money,
bring's their crews on the front.
they can not investigate any system in the Atlantic basin,
each investigation of a system contains continuously flights over and throu the system to get the idea of it's changes and movements.
but as far as my knowledge, yes, all collected data is shared betwen all collecting institutions/countries, and that's the way to learn more about that stuff year by year.
happy sunday
Mike

 

[Chris]

Most folks do not know that tremendous amounts of weather data is now collected by satellite. Another voluminous source of data is buoys in the ocean that transmit wave length, water temperature, wave height, duration between waves and a host of other data. This continuous date transmittal is analysed by computers to find trends and anomalies in ocean weather.