ENVIRONMENT CANADA IMPROVES FORECAST SERVICES FOR NOVA SCOTIANS

Halifax, March 19, 2002 -- Beginning on March 20th, Nova Scotians will notice a difference in the way their local weather forecasts are presented. By increasing the number of weather forecast districts from nine to twenty-three, Environment Canada’s Maritimes Weather Centre staff will now provide Nova Scotians with more precise local weather warnings and forecasts tailored for smaller geographical areas.

The ability to deliver weather warnings and forecasts for smaller areas has developed significantly over the past few years. "Canadians should benefit from advances in the science of meteorology," said Environment Minister David Anderson "Using smaller forecast districts will allow local radio stations to receive weather information better tailored for their areas and will in turn allow meteorologists to provide more precise local weather warnings to emergency responders working across the province."

When the current public forecast areas were developed about 15 years ago, the province was divided into nine districts. This meant that forecasters had to average the weather descriptions over fairly large areas and the names of the districts occasionally caused confusion.

The new forecast areas generally correspond with the county names. County names are widely known and understood by Nova Scotians and travelers from elsewhere can easily find them on standard road maps. Some counties have been split due to the way the geography affects the weather. However, when the weather is forecast to be very similar over several counties, the counties will be grouped together for ease of broadcasting.

Environment Canada’s latest weather information can be obtained by listening to local radio and television weather reports, on the web at http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca, through an automated telephone answering device (ATAD) or by listening to WeatherRadio.

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