On the Msc Forecasters Forums and the Future Role of the Human Forecaster

I n 2003, the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) began a significant restructuring of its forecasting operations in response to financial pressures. Senior management proposed that the MSC could be made more cost effective while continuing to provide quality services by pursuing a more centralized forecasting approach and increasing the automation of forecasts via numerical weather prediction (NWP). As a result, regional public/marine forecasting centres were reduced in number from 14 to 5 and renamed Storm Prediction Centres (SPCs; see Table 1). Aviation forecasts were centralized to two Canadian Meteorological Aviation Centres in Edmonton, Alberta, and Montréal, Quebec. A national meteorological operations forecast office remained in the Montréal area. Defense and ice service weather offices were unaffected and are not discussed here. In addition, a new methodology for operational forecasting was introduced. Specifically, automation of “routine weather” forecasts would be increased to allow forecasters to 