NASSAU, The Bahamas – Minister of Transport and Aviation the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin announced recently in her communication in the House the re-establishment of an office for weather services to Grand Bahama, after the Freeport Weather Service closed its doors on December 31, 2009.
“This policy initiative is part and parcel of a larger commitment by the Progressive Liberal Party Government to expanding quality meteorological services throughout our archipelago and, thereby so far as possible, contributes to the improved quality of life of our people,” Minister Hanna Martin said. Minister Hanna Martin said the Department came under scrutiny on March 29, 2010, when a tornado or series of tornadoes hit Grand Bahama and specifically the Freeport Container Port, resulting in the deaths of three people and the injury of six others.
“This terrible event occurred just three months after the Freeport Weather Service closed its doors on 31st December, 2009, leaving the island for the first time in decades without a weather advisory service which was specific to the Island of Grand Bahama,” she said. She added that while the Government-run Bahamas Meteorological Department was responsible then and continues today to be responsible for advisory and other services for the entire archipelago, the Freeport Weather service had played a “specific and critical role” over the years in the education, alert and advisory capacity for the inhabitants of that island.
Minister of Transport and Aviation the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin
“This was never more apparent than during the hurricanes of Frances, Wilma and Jeanne, when the noble meteorological officers could be seen and heard throughout the nights staying close to the people of Grand Bahama, providing information and assurances as the residents experienced the terror of those ferocious storms, Minister Hanna Martin said. She added that, in the case of the deadly tornado of 2010, a senior Department official was reported to have conceded that, while the Bahamas Meteorological Department is responsible for issuing warnings for the entire Bahamas, the closure of the Freeport Weather Service in 2009 meant that the level of communication that existed between forecasters and Grand Bahama news stations was severely diminished.
“It had been announced, by the then Government, that the Bahamas Department of Meteorology would establish an office in Grand Bahama so as to provide the continuity and the level of service that had been previously enjoyed and relied upon by the people of Grand Bahama,” Minister Hanna Martin said.
“Mr. Speaker, apart from the placement of one meteorological observer, this has not happened. “Mr. Speaker I am pleased to say that in accordance with our commitment to The Bahamian people as stated in the Charter of Governance, the Bahamas Government will fully establish and adequately man a Grand Bahama unit of the Bahamas Meteorological Department.”
It is important to note that the Department of Meteorology has already re-hired two of the five persons that originally operated the Freeport Weather Service, Minister Hanna Martin added. The five were Donna Duncombe, Kirk James, Trinard Tynes, Lee Marvin Johnson and Deilyah Barr.
Of all of the officers, only Mr. Trinard Tynes was retained by the Grand Bahama Airport Authority and is still engaged there, Minister Hanna Martin said. “Donna Duncombe and Deilyah Barr were re-engaged in September 2011, Minister Hanna Martin said. “Ms. Duncombe worked in the Department of Meteorology in Nassau from the 70s to mid-80s. She moved to Freeport after being offered the Job of Chief Meteorologist. She has a Master of Science Degree in Meteorology.
Ms. Deilyah Barr, originally from Grand Bahama, was trained at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Class IV (Meteorological Technician) standard. She is a certified meteorological observer and is performing that task now. She is the only person operating the Freeport Weather Service at this time. Ms. Duncombe is operating from the Meteorological Office in Nassau.
Minister Hanna Martin said that it is intended that the last of the five, Kirk James and Lee Marvin Johnson be engaged in the Grand Bahama office. She said Mr. James holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Florida State University. He served as a weather forecaster in the Bahamas Department of Meteorology in Nassau from the 70’s to the 80s before joining the Freeport Weather Service. Mr. Lee Marvin Johnson holds a WMO Class II certification, which makes him eligible to operate as a forecaster, she added. He worked in the Bahamas Department of Meteorology in Nassau from the 90s until early 2000s before joining the Freeport Weather Service. Additionally the department will engage and train an additional three trainees, she stated.
Minister Hanna Martin said the new Grand Bahama office will begin the process of providing complete and accurate coverage of weather observations and forecasts for the entire archipelago, and to further understand the vagaries of the weather it will meet the need for meteorological observers to serve as tornado spotters, particularly after the residents’ outcry as a result of the three deaths during the tornado event of March 2010.
“This is the first stage of an expansion plan of the Department of Meteorology to have human observers on each of the Family Islands and to do away with the automatic weather observing stations which are very costly on an annual basis, which are very costly on an annual basis to maintain.” She added.
Minister Hanna Martin noted that the winter and early spring seasons appears favourable for the formation of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, during these seasons low pressure systems with a high degree of moisture and instability move frequently across the Florida peninsula and into the northwest Bahamas.
“These regions of our archipelago are at risk,” she warned. “It is our objective that the Bahamian people will be adequately informed and forewarned so that all reasonable steps are taken to protect life and property.”
