Djiboutian Navy sailors teamed up with Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa's meteorology and oceanography operations branch, or METOC, to install a weather sensor at the Djiboutian Maritime Operations Center here, May 17.



Part of METOC's mission is to increase the amount of environmental data collected in East Africa. To accomplish this, they engage with different nations in East Africa and install weather sensors around the region, which in turn helps create international relationships, said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Amy Sexton, METOC leading petty officer.



"The weather forecast is very important in naval operations," said Djiboutian Navy Lt. Gouled Osman Moussa, communications officer. "This device will help the Djiboutian Navy to have a better understanding of current weather conditions in the port, and it will help our chain of command to make decisions in the maritime capacity."



The weather sensor, installed at the Port of Djibouti, will aid current observation information to ships in the area and provide another source of data in the region, said Sexton.



"It's a basic weather sensor," said Sexton. "It reads temperature, humidity and pressure, which are important here in the port."



The data is very useful for the Djiboutian Navy Maritime Operations Center, said Moussa. The Djiboutian Navy will use the information the sensor collects for their port weather brief they provide every six hours.



According to Sexton, installing the sensor represents a two-part outcome. First, in regard to CJTF-HOA's mission, the sensor is a common point between Djibouti and the United States that helps enhance the partnership between the two nations.



Second, the sensor provides local environmental data accessible through the internet via the Weather Underground website, which is a free public source of weather data, said Sexton.



This particular sensor is part of a larger network of sensors in East Africa, Sexton added. For the weather community, the data collected will help increase the accuracy of the weather information disseminated from the region.



"Our team works closely with the Djiboutian Meteorological Agency and we have a strong relationship with the Djiboutian Navy, so we are going to build a relationship between the two organizations and get Djiboutian weather forecasters involved with the Djiboutian Navy," said Sexton. "This is one of the busiest ports in the Horn of Africa, so having accurate, current weather information will help in the long run."