Inside the South Mississippi facility helping to improve weather forecasts

The National Data Buoy Center tracks ocean conditions worldwide

Stennis Space Center is known around the world for testing rocket engines, but it’s also home to one of NOAA’s most important facilities.

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operates a global network of about 240 weather and ocean observation stations that help scientists monitor conditions across the world’s oceans. The information collected is used to improve weather forecasts, track tropical systems, monitor El Niño and La Niña, and even detect tsunamis.

Many of the stations are moored buoys equipped with weather instruments that continuously measure wave heights, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, air temperature, and sea surface temperature. Some also collect ocean temperature and salinity data below the surface, which is information that satellites can’t provide.

The data is sent to forecasters in real time and fed directly into the computer models meteorologists use every day.

Because there are so few weather observations over the open ocean, every piece of data is important. It helps improve forecasts for everything from afternoon thunderstorms to hurricanes.

Before any equipment is deployed, it’s carefully tested and calibrated at Stennis. The facility is one of only a few in the world capable of performing this level of calibration, helping ensure the data collected is as accurate as possible.

While the work happens behind the scenes, it has a worldwide impact. The data collected by NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center helps scientists and meteorologists better understand our oceans, improve forecasts, and provide earlier warnings for dangerous weather.