RONALDSWAY Met Office will enter a new era this week when operations are moved to a new building due to the deterioration of the current traffic control tower.
The Met Office has been working out of the old air traffic control tower since just after the Second World War but will now move to Viscount House, which is adjacent to the terminal building.
Ronaldsway Met observer Gary Salisbury takes a look back…
"The first observations were taken from a barn to the south east of the airfield on May 7 ,1946, with a proper home on the first floor of the control tower established a few weeks later. Observations have been made every hour of every day since.
"The weathermen in those days were under the UK Air Ministry and they needed to be hardy types. With electrical thermometers and cloud-base recorders not to come into use until 1972, observers would have to go out to the instrument enclosure on the airfield every hour, around the clock, to take readings.
"Of course the worse the conditions the more important it was to go out and measure them. Indoors was not much better as there was no heating in the control tower building.
"In 1959 Air Ministry management gave in to pressure and provided staff with a paraffin heater for the office and a duffle coat – just one for all staff to share. Two years later they found funds for one oilskin, one pair of boots (big enough for anybody's feet), and one souwester.
"Celsius replaced Fahrenheit in 1961 and in June 1964 forecasts were issued to Manx Radio for the first time. This was the start of The Met Office taking on more of an 'Isle of Man Weather Centre' role in addition to its aviation duties.
"In 1965 the Isle Of Man Airports Board took over from the Air Ministry and the staff became Isle Of Man Civil Servants and soon started providing warnings to the Highway Board and other agencies.
"Airport Security began in 1973 with night-duty observers being asked to lock the door behind them when they went out. They could leave their shoes and belt on though.
"Satellite, radar and computer technology revolutionised forecasting in the 1980s and 1990s with a huge leap in the confidence of predictions and in 2007 Ronaldsway forecaster Brian Rae was awarded an MBE.
"These days Ronaldsway is linked to the UK Met Office information system and has access to their model data to be interpreted locally by our own duty forecaster.
"Met services are now more accessible than ever with over 100,000 telephone enquiries annually handled by the three phone line services and up to 70,000 visits per month to the website.
"Unlike the UK any member of the public can call and speak to a forecaster direct and pilots flying from Ronaldsway can get a face to face Met briefing from the forecaster.
"Forecasts and weather data services are provided to many customers in areas such as shipping, agriculture and construction.
"By providing advance warnings of severe weather and tidal flooding to agencies such as the Department of Infrastructure and emergency services, they can have staff and resources on hand ready to deal with issues as they happen, which reduces disruption for us all and gets the Island moving again as quickly as possible."
The attached pictures have been provided by Jon Wornham.
