TCI Gets New Meteorological Centre

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, September 2, 2022 – For the first time ever the Turks and Caicos Islands has weather updates from a department of its own.

History was made with the launching of the Turks and Caicos’ Department of Meteorology recently, and Director of Meteorology at the TCI Airports Authority Dr. Holly Hamilton spoke to Magnetic Media about the newly minted two-man team, and how the Turks and Caicos will benefit because of it.

“We are a very small team, but we are active. Currently, we mostly provide meteorological services to the aviation sector since we are an aeronautical meteorological office, however, we provide some meteorological information to the public and DDME for early warning purposes.”

One of those early warnings was issued early this week as a tropical disturbance makes its way closer to the Turks and Caicos.  Hamilton said that recent advisory is an example of the type of information and collaboration the public can expect from the Met Department and the Department of Disaster Management & Emergencies (DDME) going forward.

“We wanted to make the public aware that there was a tropical disturbance out there that could potentially pose a threat to the TCI, and that the responsible agencies were monitoring the situation. It is all about Early Warning and Early Action.”

The team utilizes automatic weather stations installed at some of the airports and weather stations that the DDME has installed throughout the country to make their predictions.

“We have been issuing 3-day Public Forecasts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for about a month now” she said

These public forecasts can be accessed on all the DDMEs social media platforms and the DDME Alert App.  The work of the Met Department will continue beyond the hurricane season with these forecasts”, Hamilton says.  Additionally, more localized information specific to the TCI will be shared, especially in the event that a tropical cyclone is threatening the islands with major input from Hamilton herself.

“As a tropical meteorologist, I now bring my knowledge of and experience with these tropical systems to the table.  The tropical cyclone warning and advisories will still be issued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology (an arrangement made by the WMO).  However, as the Director of Meteorology, I will be involved in the decision-making process on the tropical cyclone advisories for the TCI.”

In terms of growth, Hamilton and INSERT will soon be joined by a meteorological assistant, and the long-term vision she says, is for the Department to grow into a National Weather Service with more automatic weather stations to build the weather observation network in the TCI.

The government is now in the process of developing a National Strategic Plan for meteorological services and Framework for Weather, Water and Climate Services in the Turks and Caicos Islands, with the assistance of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO).

In order to grow though, Hamilton said that they will need human capital and the Met Department will be looking to recruit persons for training soon to help build its ranks .

“Any young person who has interests in weather and climate can reach out to me and we can discuss how you can become the next Meteorological Observer, Forecaster, or Meteorologist in the TCI.”

You can contact Dr. Holly at hollyhamilton@tciairports.com