Weather centre holds open day for students

The National Weather Watch Centre (NWWC) at Hyde Park, Timehri hosted an open day on Wednesday to some students to inform them about its functions as well as that of the Doppler Weather Radar.

Since its commissioning on October 5, 2009, the NWWC has been the focus of national weather forecasting, a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture said. The installation of the Doppler Weather Radar has also brought with it increased expectation with regard to enhanced weather forecasting capabilities. This, along with the recent developmentof a numerical weather prediction model and the increased human resources capacity within the NWWC have laid the foundation to allow the service to fulfil the expectations of both national and international stakeholders.

While the site is not open to the entire public at this time, the ministry has invited students from the University of Guyana’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Guyana School of Agriculture to visit. The primary objective of the open day is to allow students of the two of the country’s premier academic institutions to tour the facility and interact with staff. The students are expected to be given an introduction to the operations, functions and capabilities of the Doppler Weather Radar, the use of weather prediction models as a forecasting tool, the use and function of meteorological instruments for atmospheric data collection and the services provided by the NWWC for all stakeholders, including those in aviation, farming, agriculture, trade and fisheries.