19 (Photo by Cecil Shillingford) • Continued from previous page the next five days Tropical Cyclone Public Advisory The Public Advisory, as the name implies, is for the general public. It may include a Storm or Hurricane Watch or a Warning. In broad terms the Advisory focuses on: • The position of the Tropical Cyclone, stated in Latitude and Longitude • Distances from reference points e.g. Barbados, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica • The maximum sustained winds • Current direction of travel of the system • Speed of motion of the entire system • Summary of the current coastal watches and warnings and changes to those, if any • Features of the system such as intensity, pressure • Spread of storm force winds • Forecast track for the next 72 hours. Occasionally • Anticipated hazards to land during the Watch or Warning period – including storm surge, wind, rainfall and rip current risks The Public Advisories are normally issued by the NHC using the 24-hour clock based on Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). UTC is also known as Z or Zulu time. The use of a 24-hour clock reduces the chance of confusing the time as to whether it is day or night. UTC or Z time has replaced what used to be universally known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The official changeover took place in 1972. This means that Eastern Caribbean time remains four hours BEHIND UTC time. This means that 2100 UTC (9:00 p.m.) is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time. We encourage you to become more familiar with the Public Advisories as they are issued during the hurricane season in particular especially as the NHC website will be accessible on most technology drive devices, including your cell phone.
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