Environmental and
Weather Services Offices
The Meteorology Division in Environment Canada has three
units called Environmental and Weather Services Offices: they are located in
Saint-Laurent, Sainte-Foy et Rimouski.
From these regional offices, the production and
broadcast of the weather forecasts are done for western, central and eastern
Quebec. The public can obtain information about the current weather and
climatological data.
Four types of weather forecasts are available from these
offices: public, aviation, marine and agricultural. The forecasts for emergency
measures, pleasure boating, snow removal and travels are derived from the four
original ones, just as special forecasts requested or ordered by institutions or
companies are.
For instance, the Forest Fire Protection Organization
uses a special weather forecast that helps this agency to evaluate the
probabilities of fire and its propagation; and that for more than 100 zones over
Quebec.
Weather
Forecasts Production
The meteorologists analyse and assimilate around the
clock the essential of meteorological observations from all over North America,
satellite imagery and radar information. In addition, they look at
super-computers outputs which help them to make a decision about the
meteorological evolution. One super-computer is located at the Canadian
Meteorological Centre (CMC) in Dorval(Quebec) and the other one at the National
Weather Service in Washington DC (U.S.A).
The forecasting guides produced by these super-computers
are prognostic maps. They forecast the atmospheric state up to five days. As
soon as they are available, meteorologists start to produce the different types
of forecasts with specific format, frequency and information content. These
specifications depend on the users needs.
Even though it looks like operational meteorologists are
busy producing these forecasts to satisfy the population's needs; their first
responsability remains to do a constant weather watch in order to warn the
population about threatening or dangerous meteorological events.
Dissemination
In each office the team of professionals uses a complex
telecommunication system to transmit all the information to the users. Notably,
radio broadcasting is one way to make the public aware of the latest forecast.
They continuously update the content of the Weather Radio programming, and load the telephone answering device which allows the public to get the
recorded forecast.
On that topic, Environment Canada offers new services.
Charges for these services vary depending on whether one calls the consultation
service WEATHER ONE-ON-ONE at 1-900-565-4455 (2.99$ per minute) or
the recorded messages at WEATHER-MENU at 1-900-565-4000 (0.95$ per minute). These services are
available from anywhere in Quebec or Canada and with no additional costs.
Constantly, the Meteorology Division tries to improve
the existing services, to create new products that will suit the client's needs
and last but not least to communicate the best way it can their useful if not
essential information to hundreds of thousands of people.
Environmental
Weather Services Offices addresses:
Ouest
Place Bonaventure, Quadrant North-East
800 De La Gauchetière West
suite 7810
Montréal, Québec
H5A 1L9
Central
1141, route de l'Église
Suite 700
Sainte-Foy, Québec
G1V 4H5
East
38, rue Saint-Germain Est
Suite 302
Rimouski, Québec
G5L 1A2
The three offices are opened 24 hours a day.
For all kinds of requests, one must dial 1-900-565-4455 (2.99$ per minute) or 1-900-565-4000 (0.95$ per mimnute).
In order to find out more about all the services that
the Meteorology Division provides or about Environment Canada, call this toll
free number 1-800-463-4311 during business hours.
