[Donna_F]

(See the link below for additional information)

From: Mike Angove, Chief (Acting) Marine, Tropical and Tsunami Weather Services Branch

Subject: Soliciting Comments on Proposal to Change Small Craft Advisory to Small Craft Warning through May 24, 2020

Through May 24, 2020, the NWS is soliciting specific feedback on the proposal to change a Small Craft Advisory product to a Small Craft Warning product, including the headlines. The NWS is considering a major change to the Watch, Warning, and Advisory (WWA) system. For information on this and other proposed changes see:

https://www.weather.gov/hazardsimplification/

As part of the proposed new system, NWS would remove the terms "Advisory," "Special Weather Statement," and "NOWcast" as headlines and streamline all sub-Watch and sub-Warning information into a single, plain language statement, with a few exceptions. One exception to this change includes the marine Small Craft Advisory (SCA) product.

 

[RegisteredUser]

1 light bulb
Assign committe of 12
Allow 18 months
Provide benefits regardless of outcome

 

[outbound]

If it’s not broke don’t fix it

 

[Minnewaska]

Evidence of how we maintain investment in the wrong things, while the big things go unaddressed.

 

[Barquito]

They lost my trust when they called it, "Haz Simp". Seriously? Personally, I would be fine with the descriptive warning. It if it says, "40 kt from the SW, gusting to 50 kt overnight with a 80 percent chance of thunderstorms", I know what that means.

 

[PhilCarlson]

Changing the language to make it more understandable to the people who ignore them anyways.

 

[lillia28]

There was a New York City meteorologist, now retired, who would frequently say that Small Craft referred to boats 25 feet and under. In fact NOAA "small craft" are 65 feet and under, but I think he had a 35 foot boat. I sent a couple of emails to no avail. Whether weather "Advisory" would be heeded over a "Warning" is debatable, but "Vessels under 65 Feet" might be less subjective.

 

[outbound]

Size maybe the wrong criteria. Open 60s are <65’. My bulbed keeled Outbound might do better than a similar sized non trawler Go fast motorboat . Fortunately the other flags are meaningful as they are based on weather not boat definitions.
Everyday you go sailing in the windwards it’s “small craft”. See a lot of very small boats go sailing. Even the small open skiffs of the local fishermen.

 

[Minnewaska]

Small craft warnings are a call to action for sailors. It means good wind and no stinkpots.

 

[RegisteredUser]

Results from the Odessa, Ely and Fairbanks study groups should be printed and available by yearend

 

[chef2sail]

Small craft warnings affect differently in the sailing area. A small craft warning on the Chesapeake because of shallow depth can create greater wave conditions than say Narraganset Bay with deeper water.

Similarly 30 knot winds against current is very different that no current.

It should remain the wsy it is and they should waste tax money changing something which works fine and isn’t broken

 

[Donna_F]

There was a New York City meteorologist, now retired, who would frequently say that Small Craft referred to boats 25 feet and under. In fact NOAA "small craft" are 65 feet and under, but I think he had a 35 foot boat. I sent a couple of emails to no avail. Whether weather "Advisory" would be heeded over a "Warning" is debatable, but "Vessels under 65 Feet" might be less subjective.

NOAA removed any reference to what size makes a small boat several years ago. You are correct that they used to say 65 feet but that has been omitted from their documents.

CORRECTION: It was the USCG that defined "small craft" as less than 65 feet and removed it from the documentation and training material. I don't know that NOAA ever defined it. They only put out the SCAs.

 

[Biljrat]

I sure hope none of those big brains lost sleep thinking about it......