Learning Center on Caribbean Weather and Climate

HOME    FUNDAMENTALS    CLIMATE    WEATHER    SOCIETY    SCHOOLS    ABOUT    NEW

About - Caribbean weather organizations

National 

• National Meteorological and Hydrological Services

• Meteorological associations

National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, NMHSs

Most of the islands or territories have independent National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. In Belize and Guyana, however, these Services are combined and operate from a single office. In a few of the Eastern Caribbean islands, the Meteorological Service falls under the authority of the Civil Aviation Department.

In the Caribbean,  NMHSs are the institutions which discharge the public service responsibilities related to meteorology. NMHSs systematically observe the weather which is the description of the physical state of the atmosphere, at regular intervals. Global or regional observations are processed and analyzed to provide a picture of the current weather patterns which are then used to predict the future behaviour of the atmosphere. This information, in suitable form, is then used to provide specialized services for many different categories of users.

The most common and probably best known information provided by the NMHSs is the local weather forecast, of which so many are aware.  However, meteorologists provide information in many more fields of great economic importance such as agriculture, water resources, aviation, shipping, industry, building construction, to name but a few. A very important and not well-known function carried out by meteorological services is the provision of information for aviation. Most persons traveling by air are not aware that the safe and efficient operations of aircraft are determined by weather conditions. The prompt and reliable supply of meteorological information is imperative for the safety and economy of flight operations. Vessels at sea also make use of information provided by meteorologists. 

You can find more information on each NMHS from their websites. See also Caribbean weather forecasting.

The web sites of the NMHSs in the Caribbean:

Meteorological associations

Sociedad Meteorológica de Cuba, website of which includes material also in English (especially BOLETÍN ELECTRÓNICO)

Back to the top of this page

Copyright notice and disclaimer: In cases when the origin is not specifically indicated, the copyright of the material of this site resides at The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH). The information contained within Cawedu.net is provided with the understanding that The CIMH makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability. The public is urged to use the information freely with appropriate acknowledgement of its source, but shall not be modified in content and then presented as original material.

Send email to meteorartyahoo.com with questions or comments about this web site. Questions concerning material, copyright of which resides outside of CIMH, should be directed to the institutions in question.