The National Weather Service (NWS), a division of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is asking for public comment on the proposed discontinuation of the condensed versions of offshore marine forecast products, which it currently provides to the US Coast Guard for broadcast.

Published 6 days ago, updated 4 days ago

Source:  National Weather Service

Change Affects Condensed Products by HF Transmission

The condensed products are provided to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for broadcast over their HF radio transmitters, commonly referred to as High Frequency Voice Broadcasts (HF VOBRA).

The NWS‘s Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) and National Hurricane Center (NHC) prepare and disseminate these text products. They do not broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) transmitters, only via HF radio stations operated by the USCG.

The condensed OFF versions provide mariners with an overview of ocean conditions, including winds, waves, and significant weather events, out to five days for large sections of ocean, such as the offshore waters of the Mid-Atlantic or Hawaii.

OFF and NAVTEX products provide the same information over the same area, including warnings for hazardous conditions like gales, storms, tropical storms, hurricanes, and freezing spray. The full offshore text forecasts will continue to be available over the internet from OPC at https://ocean.weather.gov, and from NHC at https://hurricanes.gov.

No Change to NOAA Weather Radio Broacasts

No change is being proposed to NWS marine forecast products that are broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio. No other changes are being considered for the Offshore Waters Forecasts (OFF), High Seas Forecast (HSF), or NAVTEX products.

Submit a comment

Any sailors, mariners, cruisers or interested parties are invited to to provide feedback on the proposed discontinuance by June 25, 2025 direct to:

Chris Landsea, Ph.D.
Acting NOAA Senior Advisor for the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System
Chief, Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch
NOAA/NWS/NCEP/National Hurricane Center

• Email:  chris.landsea@noaa.gov

or directly to the NWS Marine Program Lead at:

• Email:  marine.weather@noaa.gov

If the NWS discontinues the condensed versions of offshore marine forecast products, a Service Change Notice will be disseminated.

A map of the condensed offshore forecasts can be found here for the Ocean Prediction Center and from the National Hurricane Center.

2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Forecasters at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service have also just released their outlook for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season and are predicting above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year.

2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season: NOAA Predicts Above Normal Activity

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