World meteorological day; focus on TCI   

Dana Malcolm  

Staff writer   

#TurksandCaicos, March 23, 2023 – As the world celebrates World Meteorological Day 2023, the Turks and Caicos will soon be able to celebrate the first anniversary of its own National Meteorological Service following its creation in 2022.  We spoke to Dr. Holly Hamilton, the Director of Meteorology, to check up on how the Department is doing.   

“Things are going well – we hired a meteorological assistant in September (Kendly Smith) and he’s now off for training in Barbados at the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, along with another young man and so that is a significant step for us.”  

When the two young men complete their training, the Department will be a team of four up from just Dr Holly and Tiffany Henfield, Meteorological Officer. They may be small, but they certainly get the work done.   

They send out 3-day forecasts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (you can see those on the DDME Facebook page) and they also serve our air carriers, but Dr Holly says they are aiming to do a lot more in the future and this means we have to get our students involved and interested in the field.   

“One of the key projects we have ongoing right now is the development of a strategic plan for National Meteorological Services for the Turks and Caicos, and what we hope to birth out of that is the Turks and Caicos National Weather Service,” she explained.   

This year’s World Meteorology Day was celebrated under the theme, “The Future of Weather, Climate and Water across Generations,” and it’s a particularly apt theme in the context of the Turks and Caicos. 

“The vision of the NWS is to deliver high-quality local water, climate and ocean services to the country, and in order to do that we will need a staff. We will need forecasters, observers, technicians, IT personnel, and so forth; and the goal is to have local people to fill those positions as much as possible, so we have to start somewhere.”   

She emphasized that we should start planting the seed in schools and in the minds of our young people to consider meteorology as a career.  

The Turks and Caicos Airports Authority out of which the meteorological service is based, released a statement to mark the global day.  

“As weather, climate, and the water cycle know no national or political boundaries, international cooperation at global and regional scales is essential for the development of meteorology, climatology and operational hydrology so that countries can reap the benefits from their application,” the statement read.   

It’s through the WMO and the work of its national partners across the globe that we are able to trust in weather forecasts that keep us safe. It is especially important for countries like the Turks and Caicos and the entire Caribbean region, whose status as islands makes us vulnerable to climate shocks and complicates the delivery of aid.  

TCIAA also highlighted regional efforts that had seen meteorology grow in the Caribbean.  

“Regionally, the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO), a specialised institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), provides the coordination of joint scientific and technical activities among the respective National Meteorological and Hydrometeorological Services.”  

It explained that while the WMO celebrates 150 years, the CMO is celebrating 50 years in 2023.   

It is through the WMO and the CMO that Turks and Caicos has received guidance on meteorological legislation and policy, as well as strategic planning and national frameworks for weather, water, and climate services, the TCIAA says.  

It’s through guidance like this that the TCI has its Met Service and is aiming to create the National Weather Service. Dr. Holly is directly involved in the decision-making process on the tropical cyclone advisories for the Turks and Caicos, which are still issued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology for now.   

The country will see more of these as we move into the hurricane season.