The following is a recreation of a memo I received from Dave Gilhousen of NDBC concerning recently discovered anemometer elevation errors. Please alert your present and future customers. This information should also be included in the CD-ROMS being produced.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Data Buoy Center
Stennis Space Center, Mississippi 39529-60O0
January 5, 1994 F1804-06.01
DB3:94-003
DBG:fcw
MEMORANDA FOR: E/CC23 - Pete Steurer, E/OC11 - Phil Hadsell
FROM: W/DB3 - David B. Gilhousen
SUBJECT: Anemometer Elevations of C-MAN Stations on Piers
Mr. Sam Houston of NOAA's Hurricane Research Laboratory discovered that we have been archiving a misleading anemometer height for NDBC C-MAN stations installed on piers. The anemometer heights have been above pier level, not above water level. Since the piers do not represent a significant obstruction to atmospheric flow, the height above water level is the more logical choice to provide to users. The C-MAN stations with the incorrect heights are DPIA1, LKWF1, PTAT2, SAUF1, and VENF1. The following table gives both the incorrect and corrected heights for these stations. The heights have been corrected starting with the November 1993 archive tape.
This error has also caused the extrapolated winds in the national section of the real-time message to be incorrect. The estimated winds at the 10 and 20 meter level were too high and have been corrected as of December 1, 1993.
| Station ID | Site Name | Incorrect Height(ft) | Correct Height (ft) | Installation Date | DPIA1 | Dauphin Island, AL | 32 | 57 | 11/86 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LKWF1 | Lake Worth, FL | 30 | 45 | 07/84 |
| PTAT2 | Port Aransas, TX | 32 | 49 | 03/84 |
| SAUF1 | St. Augustine, FL | 27 | 54 | 09/86 |
| VENF1 | Venice, FL | 26 | 38 | 03/86 |
cc:
E/CC22
R/E/CG2
W/SR1
R/E/AO/HRD