SVGMETS falls under the
jurisdiction of Civil Aviation: Airports, headed by the Director
of Airports.
Currently the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Meteorological Service is staffed by a dedicated compliment of
(8) eight meteorologists. The Meteorological Officer, a graduate
Forecaster, aided by five (5) certified Meteorological Technicians,
an Airport Cadet (Meteorology) an two (2) trainees constitutes
the small, dedicated and efficient SVGMETS staff. All
Technicians are WMO certified; receiving training
at and certification by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology
and Hydrology (CIMH)
– the WMO** Regional Meteorological Training Centre in Barbados.
Subsequent on-the-job experiences are provided at a designated
Forecast Office (Barbados Meteorological Service) and afterward
on-site at the E.T. Joshua Airport Office.
Back to top
History
Back to top
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Service (SVGMETS)
is the National Meteorological Service and is attached to the
Civil Aviation Department, Ministry of National Security, Public
Service Air and Sea Ports Development. It is the official
provider of weather and climate information and related products
and services for the state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Established in 1960, the Service consisted of only one observing
station, manned by a skeleton staff of yeomen Air Traffic
Services personnel, providing Meteorological, Aeronautical
Information and Air Traffic Control Services. It, then, provided
very basic weather information, for aircrafts using what was
then the then Arnos Vale airstrip, between sunset and sunrise.
The Service was once overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, but then changed hands to the Ministry
of Communications, Works and Labour until its most recent
transfer to the aforementioned Ministry.
The Service has since grown remaining at the same location , but
with a much upgraded station. It's headquarters has since been
renamed The Ebenezer Theodore Joshua Airport. The Service now
oversees 5
Automatic Weather
Observing Station. One inherited from the
CPACC Sea-Level Station Project and four (4) installed
in June 2004 under the SIDS- Caribbean Project. These
stations are located at the HQ at Arnos Vale, Calliaqua, and at
the Airports in Bequia and Union Island. An AWOS was also
installed at Argyle IAP in October 2006.
The Service now, no longer provides only routine hourly reports,
but also synoptic observations, daily public weather,
climate data, occasional climate related publications.
The Service current has one trained forecaster on staff and is
looking to possibly providing forecast services at some point in
the not to distant future. Currently for most part public and
aerodrome forecasts services are provided to the State by the
Barbados Meteorological Service in collaboration with SVGMETS.
In its provisions SVGMETS serves by providing Routine Daily
Report, Briefing, Flight Folders and Public Forecast. Those
sectors includes Aviation, Agriculture, Civil Construction,
Civil Security, Coast Guard, Forestry, Education, Fisheries,
Leisure, Ports and Shipping, and Tourism.
Additionally SVGMETS oversees another essential unit, the
Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) Office. This
aspect of SVGMETS serves to provide the aviators with
aeronautical information services relevant to the efficient,
safe and expeditious use of the skies locally, regionally and
internationally
Our Mission
Back to top
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Service
(SVGMETS) provides weather monitoring, forecasts and warnings
and climate data services for the St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, its dependencies, and adjacent waters, for the
protection of life and property and the development of the
national economy. SVGMETS data and products form an information
database which can be used by other governmental agencies, the
private sector, the public, and the global community." (Our new SVGMETS Logo
was developed with this in mind)
In short, our mission is: To meet the national requirement for
high-quality weather and associated products and services which
will aid in the protection and improvement of their lives,
property, or business.
This mission statement implies
that we, as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological
Service, will:
-
meet the State's obligations to provide meteorological
services to the Aviation, Public and Private sectors.
- help to ensure the protection and safety of life and
property by issuing public weather forecasts and warnings
and climate products.
- contribute effectively to national prosperity and to
Government objectives by supplying relevant meteorological
services to all sectors of the economy.
- ensure customer satisfaction by continually improving the
range and quality of our products, the cost-effectiveness of
our operations and our overall standard of service.
- foster a professional and supportive work environment which
attracts, retains and develops committed employees.
- ensure the maintenance of a high-quality and cost-effective
meteorological infrastructure, consistent with national
requirements and resources.
- enhance the quality of our climate data archives and
provide easy and prudent access to our databases.
- participate in the on-going development of meteorological
science and its applications in collaboration with our
Caribbean partners and with the wider international
community.
Responsibilities and Services
Back to top
SVGMETS is responsible for servicing aviation meteorological
needs under ICAO1 regulations. This is one its mission tasks. A
significant allocation of our resources is dedicated to both
providing aeronautical and meteorological information for five
(5) airports and one (1) Restricted Airstrip: Mainland: E.T.
Joshua Airport and Rabacca Airstrip and Grenadines: J.F.
Mitchell Airport, Canouan Island Airport, Union Island Airport,
and Mustique Island (Private) Airport.. (see map below).
The aim of the Service is also to provide a wide range of
meteorological services to civil, and military general
interests. SVGMETS makes available reports and forecasts for
local, regional and international airports/ stations, local
severe weather warnings in collaboration with Miami National
Hurricane Centre and Barbados Meteorological Service, SIGMET
weather issued by Piarco Flight Information Region and some
astronomical data.
The Service in its effort to provide the best and
modern services makes use of every affordable and
technologically advanced means of communication
including the usual phone and facsimile services,
radio and television, High Speed Internet Access,
and an EMWIN satellite based system.
Current Improvement Projects
Back to top
- CPACC/MACC Project: To provide improved
Sea-Level AWOS2 communication equipment
- SIDS-Caribbean Project - Extension: Provided training fellowship thru WMO3
and meteorological data retrieval and processing software and systems.
SIDS-Caribbean Project is also sponsoring SVGMETS website development and
hosting.
- In-House development of multimedia options to provide better Television
Weather presentation and Internet-based weather and climate information.
- Caribbean Meteorological Organisation Radar Project: Providing access to
Doppler Radar facilities (in progress)
- In-House Training: continuing the computer literacy, web development and
satellite and products interpretation training to all meteorological
personnel; seeking further on-the-job meteorological training for all staff,
offering all genders equal opportunity at advancement and promotions.
- In-House Enhancement - A drive to offer more user-specific and friendly
meteorological and climate products and services.
1ICAO
- international Civil Aviation Organisation2AWOS - Automatic
Weather Observing Station 3World Meteorological Organisation
