Weather buoy stays shorebound after repairs

Advertiser Staff

Buoy One, the weather buoy that warns of incoming high surf from the northwest, remains shorebound because of Coast Guard homeland defense priorities.

The buoy broke free of its mooring chain Jan. 10 and drifted to a reef off Nihoa island, where it snagged for a short time before drifting eastward.

It was recovered Feb. 4 by a Coast Guard cutter and was brought back to Honolulu for repair by the National Data Buoy Center. It was to have been taken back out late in March, but Coast Guard buoy tenders had other duties.

Delores Clark, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Hawai'i, said the buoy is waiting for Coast Guard availability, and other options are being considered for getting the device back to sea.

The 19-foot, boat-shaped weather buoy, formally known as Buoy 51001, normally is anchored in 2-mile-deep waters 190 miles northwest of Kaua'i.

National Weather Service officials said they are using other means to predict incoming surf and storms, but they miss the "ground truthing" that the buoys provide. The data-collecting buoys measure wave height and intervals, wind speed, and water and air temperature

The weather service said it is making up for the missing buoy data by increased use of satellite information, surf observations and various computerized systems.