2nd November, 2017 Weather Forecasting Staff of the National Weather Forecasting Office are receiving much needed high resolution modeling from the Indonesian Meteorological Service (BMKG). At a one day training session held at the Tanoa Dateline Hotel the Director of the Tonga Meteorological Service, Mr. ‘Ofa Fa’anunu gave a short brief of the assistance. “The project we are implementing here in Tonga since last week and completing this week is assistance being provided by our Indonesian counterparts to 5 Pacific Island Countries namely Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji through funding from the UNESCAP. Tonga is the first country to implement the project. Two specialists from the Indonesian Weather Service (BMKG) are here to assist us install and run a high resolution model at the Forecasting Centre at Fua’amotu. The 2 experts include Chief of the Forecasting Centre in Indonesia, Mr. Agie Wandala Putra and Systems Administrator, Mr. Zainal Abidin.”
Fa’anunu added, ”One of the forecasting difficulties we have today in Tonga is the forecasting of heavy rain. Especially heavy rain associated with thunderstorms and heavy rain associated with low pressure systems which usually gives intense rainfall and problems of flooding of low lying areas in Tonga. Improving forecast of heavy rainfall events will assist us with our response and readiness for such events.
Starting last week these experts from Indonesia have helped us parameterize and install the high resolution Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model for Tonga. This model downscales the global weather model we use for forecasting here in Tonga called the GFS model (22km resolution) down to 7km and 2.3km resolution.
In plane language its like zooming down from looking at rainfall amount over a 22km area to just 7km and 2.3km areas. We expect that this project will improve our forecasting of high rainfall intensity events.
Finally, The Director of Meteorology wanted to thanks the development partners for their Assistance. “ I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Indonesian Government through the BMKG as well as UNESCAP for this timely and significant assistance to Tonga. We expect that the project will make vast improvements to our Early Warning System and in building community resilience to extreme rainfall events”
The training continues tomorrow at the forecasting center at Fua’amotu completes this Friday 3rd November 2017.
ENDS
For further information: Meteorology Division on 35355 or metstaff@met.gov.to. More information is also available at www.met.gov.to