Andre Joyeux, Meteorologist I, Saint Lucia Meteorological Services RA-IV WIGOS Implementation Workshop (English), December, Willemstad Curaçao Saint Lucia

Outline of the presentation 1.Mission of the NMHS 2.National Observing Issues or Needs 3.Plans for the observing networks 4.WIGOS Implementation Status 5.Summary

Mission of the NMHS Ensure that the staff of the Saint Lucia Meteorological Services is comprised of a cadre of properly trained personnel. Ensure that the instruments and systems utilized by the Saint Lucia Meteorological Services operate in accordance with international standards. Maintain a robust and continuously improving quality assurance system within the Saint Lucia Meteorological Services. Maintain adequate and widely accessible channels of communication and communicate in language that is customer focused and easy to interpret

Major historical meteorological disaster events Christmas Eve Trough (2013): Rainfall event (claimed 6 lives, widespread flooding, land slides, damage to property, road and building infrastructure, disruption of utilities) –Estimate damage US$99.3 M Hurricane Tomas (2010): –Estimated damage: US$336.2 M Hurricane Dean (2007): –Estimated damage: US$18.8 M Hurricane Ivan (2004): –Estimated damage: US$2.6 M TS Lili (2002): –Estimated damage:US$20.0 M TS Debby (1994): Hurricane Allen (1980):

Staff composition related to observations and data collection/processing and competence 13 Trained Meteorological Observers 3 Instruments Technician 2 trained data processing technician Competency assessment

WIGOS Implementation Status Two Synoptic Stations: 78948, both reporting 17 AWS and 2 AWOS none of which have WMO Station ID numbers 2 Sutron stations reporting to CIMH Is there an existing national or regional database that catalogues your observing networks? No Are your data and metadata accessible and shared? Yes

Major needs and gaps in observing capabilities and access WMO and other regional partners can assist by providing a good database software. Other partners can provide knowledge on the use of various software and equipment. This will speed up the process of installing, using and maintaining equipment and software.

Plans for the National Observing Networks PLANS Expansion of Observation network on a national level Obtain WMO station Ids for AWS to enable reporting on the GTS

WIGOS Implementation Status Is there an updated National WIGOS Implementation plan/strategy? No –Do you have plans to create and execute such a strategy? –Yes What are your training needs? - Installation, maintenance and use of equipment and software

WIGOS Implementation Status Do you have any agreements with your partners? –Formal or informal collaborative arrangements amongst meteorological, hydrological, marine/oceanographic, and academic/research institutions and private sector services within the country for WIGOS implementation An MoU exists between our NMS and a sister agency, the Water Resources Management Agency (WRMA) for data sharing archiving and maintenance of our observation network

WIGOS Implementation Status Can partners discover and access your data? –Constraints and barriers that may prevent non-NMHS organization from contributing and/or accessing observations via GTS and/or WIS WRMA, Our sister agency, has access to our AWS network via the internet

WIGOS Implementation Status Is there an operational Quality Management System for the National Observing system Network or specific component observing system? No, but we are planning in the future to implement QMSs for all components of the SLMS

WIGOS Implementation Status Are operational and/or maintenance processes for observing systems documented and their implementation monitored? We have a routine maintenance schedule for maintenance of our AWS network and reports are generated after every visit. No formal process has been adopted.

Summary The SLMS intends to implement WIGOS and in the near future will develop a WIGOS Implementation plan The SLMS has strengthened its observation network and has partnered with a sister agency in data sharing and database management. It intends also to broaden this collaboration on a national level The SLMS has trained technicians in instruments maintenance and calibration to ensure that its observing stations remain operational The SLMS plans to make available reports from AWS on the GTS