METAREAs forecast and warning program: chapter 3

3.0 METAREAs Service Standards

METAREAs Service Standards were developed in conjunction with the development of MSC’s regular Marine Forecast & Warning Program Service Standards with the objective of supplementing performance reporting mechanisms that currently exist within the MSC. These include the Departmental Report on Plans and Priorities, the Performance Management Framework, and the ISO9001:2008 Quality Management System. 

These Service Standards have been developed in consultation with key clients, and are intended to clearly state the level of service clients may normally expect from the MSC’s METAREAs Forecast & Warning program.

These Service Standards have been categorized under the three different types as defined by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: accessibility, timeliness, and accuracy.

• 3.1 Accessibility Standards
• 3.2 Timeliness
• 3.3 Accuracy

3. 1 Accessibility Standards

The MSC recognizes that a standard of accessibility to both the organization and its products is key to client services. Clients have several means of access to both the MSC and its products.

• 3.1.1 Accessibility of the MSC
• 3.1.2 The Accessibility of METAREAs Forecast and Warning Products
• 3.1.3 Service Limitations

3.1.1 Accessibility of the MSC

The MSC is committed to being accessible to users of its services and products.  This commitment is demonstrated by the numerous ways in which mariners may contact the MSC directly to ask questions, make suggestions or submit comments, receive one-on-one weather consultation, or to file a complaint.

Users of METAREAs forecast products may obtain information pertaining to these products, or the METAREAs forecast program in general, via email.

In addition to the METAREAs email portal, users of MSC’s METAREA or other marine forecast products may access the MSC via the National Inquiry Response Team (NIRT), whose main function is to receive and respond to client inquires directed at the MSC.  The NIRT may be contacted either by postage mail, facsimile, or teletypewriter at the following:

Additionally, the NIRT may also be contacted by completing the Contact Us form on EC’s Weatheroffice website.

The NIRT has established the following performance targets to ensure client feedback is addressed in a timely manner: a) NIRT reports will be analyzed within 10 working days; and b) Specific NIRT requests will be responded to within 10 working days.

For one-on-one forecaster consultation, the MSC provides a dedicated 1-900 user-pay telephone service which gives clients the option to speak directly with a duty forecaster.  This provides a means for clients to consult in with MSC meteorologists on the forecast products in greater detail if necessary.

For users seeking historical meteorological or climatological information, they may do so by calling the user-pay telephone service during regular business hours at (900) 565-1111. Climate data may also be obtained by consulting the MSC’s National Climate Data and Information Archive website.

3.1.2 The Accessibility of METAREAs Forecast and Warning Products

MSC meteorologists monitor weather conditions 24 hours a day 7 days a week so as to ensure users receive the most recent forecast and warning information in a timely manner.

As such, the MSC endeavours to ensure all METAREAs forecast and warning information produced by the MSC is accessible to users. 

METAREAs forecast bulletins are issued from the forecast centre twice-daily during the Arctic shipping season according to a prescribed schedule. METAREA bulletins are then disseminated to users according to International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidelines pertaining to the promulgation of met MSI within the framework of the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS).  If necessary, updated METAREAs forecast bulletins may be issued as required should evolving marine meteorological conditions warrant.

To ensure METAREAs forecast products are delivered to clients, a variety of dissemination tools are used - both internal and external to MSC - and in partnership with both federal agencies and private companies specializing in the provision of such information to the marine community.  Thus, the MSC ensures that the most up-to-date marine forecast information is available to mariners from as many sources, and in as many locations, as possible.

The following mediums are used by the MSC to disseminate METAREAs forecast & warning products:

Internal mediums (operated and maintained by the MSC):

• Canadian Meteorological Centre's (CMC) Datamart electronic bulletin board.

External mediums:

• Canadian Coast Guard's (CCG)’s  High Frequency Narrow Band Direct Printing of HF Telex (HF NBDP) broadcast service¹,
• Inmarsat-C satellite broadcast over the Inmarsat SafetyNET service²,
• The JCOMM/GMDSS website.

Note that not all of these sources are available in all areas. Please contact the MSC for more information pertaining to your specific area, or for additional information regarding any of these dissemination mediums.

Additional information regarding the METAREAs forecast program such as product issue times, broadcast frequencies, and areas of coverage may also be found in Part 5 of the CCG’s Radio Aids to Marine Navigation.

3.1.3 Service Limitations

Users of MSC’s METAREAs forecast service should note that accessibility to METAREAs forecast products may at times be interrupted due to circumstances beyond MSC’s control. 

Factors that may impact accessibility include, but are not limited to, geographic location of the receiving station and atmospheric conditions. 

For example, atmospheric conditions resulting in HF radio signal loss may subsequently disrupt the reception of METAREA products that users would normally obtain via HF telex. Also, users navigating higher latitudes, beyond 75° N, who would normally receive METAREAs forecast products via Inmarsat-C may no longer be able to receive these products because the Inmarsat-C signal begins to fade out at higher latitudes.

Users should also note that MSC marine products that are disseminated via a third party external to the MSC may be subject to service limitations resulting from a disruption to the third party’s services.

For example, an Inmarsat-C Service Provider may experience an outage at its transmission facility thereby disrupting the broadcast of METAREA forecast bulletins via Inmarsat-C.

Additionally, METAREAs forecasts for regions north of 75° N are disseminated via the CCG’s HF telex broadcast from Iqaluit NU. Users should note that the CCG does not guarantee HF telex broadcast coverage west 141° W, which corresponds to the western boundary of the CCG’s assigned Search and Rescue (SAR) Area of Responsibility (AOR).    

For additional information regarding service limitations, either internal or external to the MSC, please contact the MSC directly.

3.2 Timeliness

The MSC recognizes that it is of vital importance to its clients that the most up-to-date weather information be made available in a timely manner.  The MSC also recognizes that mariners rely on receiving marine weather forecasts based on a prescribed schedule. 

As such, the MSC endeavours to ensure that METAREAsmarine forecasts are issued according to the established schedule.^{Footnote 3} 

As mentioned previously, updated METAREAs forecasts will be issued immediately upon the need becoming apparent, thus this service standard is not applicable to updated forecasts.

3.3 Accuracy

The MSC endeavours to deliver accurate forecasts at all times.  However, the uncertainty inherent in the science of meteorological prediction coupled with the complex meteorological dynamics of the marine environment requires that a realistic and obtainable performance standard be established. . 

The marine meteorological parameter that has been identified for use as a measurement indicator to quantify the performance of the marine forecast is the prediction of gale-force wind, defined as wind speed of 34 to 47 knots inclusive.

This parameter was chosen because a gale warning will be placed in effect upon gale-force wind being either expected or observed, thus gale-force wind provides a readily identifiable marine alert event that is relatively common throughout all maritime regions of Canada. Also, gale-force wind has been identified as an important threshold for mariners in general, so establishing this event as a performance measurement indicator will be meaningful to most of the clients using MSC’s METAREAs forecast products.

The Service Standard regarding gale-force wind will thus be to place gale warnings in effect at least 18 hours prior to the onset of gale-force wind events.

A lead-time of 18 hours was chosen because this time-interval is a realistic service standard objective. Also, it is a sufficient period of time for mariners to take whatever precautions they may deem appropriate before the onset of a gale-force wind event.

Although gale-force wind is the only performance indicator identified at this time, it is possible that additional marine weather parameters will be identified as performance indicators and reported against at some point in the future.