Easter Windstorm -- Storm Was Forecast By Noaa; Boaters Should Pay Attention

The April 6 letter from Reid Hale regarding the Easter windstorm is incorrect when he says "there was not a hint of warning regarding the storm." At 8:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday, the NOAA marine forecast for southern Puget Sound was gale-force winds (39 mph) and storm-force (55 mph) winds for northern inland waters. Sometime before 10:30 a.m. NOAA began broadcasting a special marine advisory warning all boaters to immediately seek shelter. That advisory predicted wind gusts in excess of 66 mph and provided all marine interests at least a two-hour opportunity to get to protected moorage.

Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., the marine forecast had warned of the probability of gale-force winds for southern Puget Sound and storm-force winds for the northern inland waters on Sunday. My wife and I canceled our Sunday boat trip when we heard the Saturday night forecast.

Any boater who was surprised by the wind storm was negligent if they were on the water after 10 a.m. Easter Sunday. NOAA had provided sufficient warning to any boater competent enough to use the information. The Easter Sunday windstorm was an unusual event which occurred when a very small and intense low pressure system developed much further south than originally predicted. NOAA provided as much warning as possible and did an excellent job of spreading that information. Every boat operator is responsible for monitoring NOAA marine broadcasts. If Mr. Reid had been paying attention he would not have been surprised by the windstorm - I listened to NOAA and I kept my boat safely tied to its dock.

Jerry King Tacoma