National Meteorological Services

Meteorological observations in Belize date back to 1887. Observations were recorded by a number of individuals and organizations such as the Surgeon General, Agriculture, Forestry, and later Civil Aviation Departments.
In the early 20th century, the U.S.A. Weather Service established a weather observing station at the telegraph office in Belize City as part of its Caribbean network. This marked the beginning of official weather observations in Belize. That station was later given the first WMO station identifier number in the country, 78583. This number is still used to identify the weather station located at the Philip Goldson International Airport in Ladyville, where the office of the National Meteorological Service is located.
The Federation of the British West Indies was created in 1958 and consisted of 10 member islands. Belize, formerly British Honduras, was not a member of the Federation. However, it was a member of the regional meteorological service that was administered by the Federal Government. The regional service was divided into three regions, Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean and the Bahamas. Jamaica, Belize and the Cayman Islands comprised the western region. The western region was administered from the main meteorological office located at Norman Manley International Airport, Jamaica, formerly Palisadoes Airport. The Belize office was a synoptic observing station administered by the Civil Aviation Department. The main Regional Forecast Office in Jamaica provided public weather forecasts and severe storm warnings. It also provided aeronautical weather forecasts to the Belize International Airport. In 1962, the Federation came to an end. However, the Caribbean Meteorological Service continued as a regional service.
In 1966, the first professionally trained meteorological officer joined the Civil Aviation Department and was charged with the responsibility of developing a National Meteorological Service. During the period 1966 to 1972, the Public and Aviation Forecasting responsibilities were gradually transferred from the forecast office in Jamaica to the Belize office. In 1967, for the first time, the local weather forecast was broadcast directly from the Belize meteorological office over the local radio station. For these broadcasts the name Belize Weather Bureau was used rather than the National Meteorological Service.
In 1972, the Meteorological Office in the Civil Aviation Department was upgraded to the National Meteorological Service in the Ministry of Energy and Communication. The newly formed department was charged with the development of specialized services in the areas of Agrometeorology, Climatology, Hydrometeorology, whilst maintaining the traditional Aeronautical and Public Weather Forecasting. The offices of the new department were relocated to a new building that also housed at the time a newly acquired 10cm Weather Radar for use in the tracking of tropical storms threatening the country. With the help of the World Meteorological Organization, networks of Climatological, Agrometeorological and Hydrometeorological Stations were established over most of the country. An aggressive recruiting and training program was then initiated. Using the WMO training guide and fellowships provided by the United Kingdom and the United States of America, personnel were trained at the Class IV through Class I levels in the various fields of specialization.