New Cowes weather stations go live providing key data

Cowes Harbour Commission (CHC) and OceanWise have completed a stakeholder benefit project to install two environmental monitoring stations on the River Medina.

These stations will provide tide and weather data, allowing commercial and leisure vessels to make timely, safety related navigational decisions.

A fixed weather station at Shepards Marina provides tide height and visibility information, while a floating weather station in the main harbour provides information on harbour wind speed and direction, temperature and barometric pressure.

Cowes Weather Station data.

The tide and weather sensors feed data to the recently launched online Cowes Weather Station, available at cowesharbourcommission.co.uk/cowes_weather_station

Comprising specialists in marine environmental data management, Hampshire-based OceanWise has installed similar systems at other ports in the UK.

For Cowes, it has used a range of monitoring instruments, and data from all the sensors is collected and transmitted for use by Cowes pilots and commercial vessels, and publication online.

Cowes harbour master, Ed Walker said: “As a trust port, we work to ensure navigational safety remains a top priority in the harbour.

"Delivered with OceanWise’s expertise in marine data, the new Cowes Weather Station will enable CHC to monitor and manage key environmental data for the harbour.”

Mark Jonas, technical director at OceanWise said: “We are proud to have worked with CHC on this project.

“We are assisting more ports and harbours than ever to improve and modernise their environmental monitoring capabilities.

"Robust and integrated marine data management systems are helping our customers to improve safety, respond to changing weather patterns, and enhance decision-making.”