By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Aviation, Climate and Severe Weather Network (BACSWN) played a key role in supporting evacuation efforts ahead of Hurricane Melissa, providing critical weather data that helped coordinate flights in collaboration with the US Coast Guard and the Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRMA).

According to BACSWN Chief Operating Officer Michael Strachan, the use of the Advanced Weather Information Processing System (AWIPS) proved vital in ensuring safe and efficient evacuations from islands in the storm’s path.

“Using AWIPS, BACSWN’s chief meteorologist Ed Holicky and our consultant from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Professor Roelof Bruintjes, were able to assist the US Coast Guard last week with getting all of the weather processed for the evacuation flights,” Mr Strachan said.

“Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to get the number of evacuations done that needed to be done, and it highlights the importance of BACSWN’s WX SenseNet and the Met Watch Office that we are setting up. It also shows how critical BACSWN’s role can be in national emergencies to assist with the coordination of evacuations. We look forward to expanding these partnerships once all of our networks are up and running.”

Professor Bruintjes said the operation marked a historic first for The Bahamas’ radar capabilities.

“The Met Department had installed these radars, but BACSWN restored and is now maintaining them to produce quantitative data,” he explained.

“From the Long Island radar — operating for the first time — we were able to see the eyewall of Melissa as it came into radar coverage and track its circulation. This is the first time we’ve seen this on radar in The Bahamas. Previously, only US radars could capture such detail during landfall events. This is a first for the Caribbean and certainly for The Bahamas.”

BACSWN’s growing network of weather monitoring systems is part of a wider effort to strengthen The Bahamas’ climate resilience and improve real-time response capacity for disasters.