By BARBARA WALKIN
Senior FN Reporter
barbara@nasguard.com
Hundreds of weather ex-perts converged on Grand Bahama Wednesday morning to attend the 12th Annual Bahamas Weather Confer-ence, which is set to officially begin this morning at the Westin at Our Lucaya.
The educational, pre-hurricane weather seminar was organized by the Ministry of Tourism and attracts meteorologists from throughout The Bahamas, the United States, Canada and Europe.
On their arrival yesterday, conference participants registered for the event and later in the evening were hosted to a welcome cocktail reception on the Great Lawn at Our Lucaya.
This morning the experts will gather for the official opening ceremony, scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Immediately following will be a presentation by Donna Duncombe, chief meteorologist from the Freeport Weather Depart-ment. Duncombe will speak on Grand Bahama and Tropical Storm Noel.
Later, Bill Read, director of the National Hurrincane Cen-ter, will give a review of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Duncombe said the conference was highly anticipated by both foreign and local weather personnel and is expected to be very informative and interesting.
"We're looking forward to having a great time at this conference. With 100 meteorologists expected to be in attendance, we're looking forward to a good time of exchange among the group," she said. "Being able to exchange some of the concerns and issues we have in dealing with the general public is very helpful."
Throughout the day participants will also hear from Dr. Steve Lyons of The Weather Channel. Dr. Lyons will be part of a three member panel on 'How to present hurricane seasonal outlooks to the public.'
Joining Dr. Lyons will be Max Mayfield.
Former director of the National Hurricane Center, Mayfield, who is the moderator of the conference this year, has planned an agenda that will present a wide range of topics on hurricanes.
In-depth discussions on forecasting, hurricanes and the global effects of climate change will be held for the duration of the conference, as an expanded line-up of ex-perts explore the forecast process.
During the afternoon sessions participants will have the opportunity to utilize the on-site satellite television facility provided to share insights from the conference with viewers in their various countries.
Millions of viewers from Houston to Baton Rouge Louisiana, Mobile Alabama, Tampa Florida, Miami Florida, Atlanta Georgia, Washington D.C., New York and Boston, Massachusetts have benefited from information relayed by their fav-ourite local weather person from the sunny Bahamas.
The Weather Channel and CBC Newsworld in Canada will also broadcast highlights of the conference across North America.
