Beginning on or about April 16, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Gray will assume forecast, watch and warning responsibility for the coastal waters from south of Stonington to the Merrimack River from 25 to 60 nautical miles offshore.

Routine forecast services for these waters were previously the responsibility of the Ocean Prediction Center.

"The change is part of a regional improvement that will result in all forecasts and warnings for coastal waterways within 60 nautical miles of shore originating from the local WFO across the entire Contiguous United States (CONUS)," said the NWS, in Gray, at its website. "There will be no change to the current forecast and warning services provided by WFO GYX for coastal waterways within 25 nautical miles of shore."

The NWS said: "coastal waterways are lifelines of commerce in northern New England, frequented by commercial, recreational, and research vessels year-round.  Additionally, fishermen often leave local ports bound for offshore fishing sites. These activities primarily take place within 60 nautical miles of shore, with mariners depending on reliable weather forecasts from the National Weather Service to ensure the safety of themselves and their crew, passengers, and cargo while on the water."

The NWS outlined the benefits:

"Improved forecast service continuity, with local WFO’s now responsible for issuing routine forecasts and warnings for all marine waters out to 60 nautical miles offshore for the entire CONUS.

"Increased number of forecast parameters with temperature, precipitation chances, and weather type among the parameters that are now available for mariners from 25 to 60 NM offshore out to 5 days in the future.

"Improved forecast resolution, with point and click forecast capability now enabling mariners to get precise hourly forecasts for specific points (specific fishing location) anywhere within 60 NM of shore out to 5 days in the future.

"Expanded suite of short and long-fused watch and warning products to alert mariners to the potential for a variety of hazardous weather conditions.

"WFOs now have the capability to deliver Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) to partners in support of incident response for incidents that occur anywhere within 60 NM of shore.  This includes SPOT weather forecasts for ongoing marine incidents."