What We Do
Ocean Weather Services provides global ocean weather forecasts and ship routing services to the maritime industry. In addition, our weather experts provide accurate ocean storm and hurricane tracking services as well as professional marine meteorological research reports for admiralty lawyers and marine insurance companies.
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Author Archives: Fred Pickhardt
Ocean Weather Wisdom – Wind Roses
A valuable tool available on the Pilot Charts are the wind roses that depict the long-term prevailing winds for each 5 degree square of latitude and longitude. The wind roses show the distiburtion of winds that have prevailed within each square over a long time period. Continue reading
Ocean Weather Wisdom – Pilot Chart Insert
The Pilot chart can be a valuable aide in planning a long voyage. It provides additional information to assist the navigator in voyage planning by allowing a route to be selected based on the long-term climate. Continue reading
March 1993 Superstorm
Early on March 13, 1993 an unusually severe extratropical low moved ashore from the Gulf of Mexico hitting western Florida with hurricane force winds and a hurricane like tidal surge of up to 12 feet. Continue reading
500 MB Chart for Mariners
The 500mb forecast chart is an excellent tool for mariners to estimate where to anticipate the heaviest sea and swell conditions as well as a guide to the expected surface stormtracks and intensities. Continue reading
What are Weather Routing and Vessel Performance Monitoring?
Commercial marine weather routing had it start in the 1950’s when Howard Kaster, a meteorologist for United Airlines, started a company called “Pacific Weather Analysis Corporation” which later evolved into Ocean Routes under Ray Maier and Bill Dupin. Other pioneers of commercial ship routing in the 1960’s included Bill Kaciak the founder of “Weather Routing Inc.”, Louis Allen who started “Allen Weather Corp” and “Bendix Marine Science Services” under Robert A Raguso. Continue reading
Posted in Featured Blog, Weather Routing
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Mariner’s Guide to Waves
Wave steepness (S) is defined as wave height divided by wavelength (S = H/L). Therefore, the same wave height will result in high steepness if the wavelength becomes smaller. A small height divided by a large length will produce a low steepness. When the wave steepness exceeds about 1/7 the wave will begin to break or “white cap.”
The Flying Enterprise – Man vs. the Sea
Sixty years ago this Christmas Week, began an incredible sea story involving a WWII era cargo vessel named the Flying Enterpriseand her captain, Kurt Carlsen.
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Posted in Featured Blog, Weather History
Tagged 1951, hurricane, North Atlantic, Storm, Weather History
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November 1950 Superstorm
The conditions were now set for a “Coastal Bomb”. The surface low deepened very rapidly over Eastern North Carolina late on the 24th tracking northward to near Washington, DC by the early morning hours of the 25th. At the same time a strong High-pressure held nearly stationary over Eastern Canada causing an unusually strong pressure gradient over the North Eastern States and very high winds.
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Posted in Featured Blog, Uncategorized, Weather History
Tagged 1950, Coastal Bomb, Storm, Superstorm, Weather History
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Gales of November
On November 10, 1975 the Great Lakes bulk cargo vessel SS Edmund Fitzgerald carrying a cargo of taconite pellets (iron-bearing flint-like rock used in steelmaking) sank with the loss of all 29 crewmembers in eastern Lake Superior about 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay, Michigan during a severe storm. The vessel sank quickly without sending a distress signal and the story of this tragedy inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write his most famous song: “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. Continue reading
Posted in Featured Blog, Weather History
Tagged Gale, Great Lakes, Storm, Weather History
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The 1921 Tampa Hurricane – 90 Years ago this Month
During the night of the 24th and the morning of the 25th the hurricane turned toward the north-northeast then later northeast finally making landfall near Tarpon Springs, Florida where a minimum barometer reading of 28.12 inches (952mb) was recorded at about 2:15 PM that same afternoon. This reading suggests that a max wind at landfall of about 110 knots (125mph) which would make this storm a Cat 3 hurricane. Continue reading
Posted in Featured Blog, Hurricanes, Tampa, Weather History
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