National Data Buoy Center

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National Data Buoy Center

Official page for NOAA's National Weather Service National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). It operates the NWS test center for all surface sensor systems.

NDBC Charter: The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) manages the development, operations, and maintenance of the national data buoy network. It serves as the NOAA focal point for data buoy and associated meteorological and environmental monitoring technology. It provides high quality meteorological/environmental data in real time from automated observing systems that include buoys and a Coastal-Mari

ne Automated Network (C-MAN) in the open ocean and coastal zone surrounding the United States. It provides engineering support, including applications development, and manages data buoy deployment and operations, and installation and operation of automated observing systems installed on fixed platforms. It manages the Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS) program to acquire additional meteorological and oceanographic observations supporting NWS mission requirements. It maintains the capability to support operational and research programs of NOAA and other national and international organizations. If you're looking for the official source of information about the National Data Buoy Center, please visit our homepage at www.ndbc.noaa.gov.

05/29/2026

🌎 Ensuring the nation’s maritime safety starts with our own team!

🤝 During any service mission, our technicians at sea rely heavily on buoy data, local NWS Weather Forecasts Offices, and the expertise of our meteorologists back at NDBC to help navigate the challenges of swiftly changing conditions at sea.

After the NDBC team on the M/V Bluefin paid a visit to 46066 (310 NM SSW of Kodiak, AK) this week, the weather outlook took a turn for the worse. Armed with reliable data, our team made an informed decision to move inland and drop anchor while they wait for calmer seas and safer conditions to continue the service cruise.

Our mission is to make informed decisions like this one possible for you, too! Access NDBC buoy data for your area at www.ndbc.noaa.gov.

US National Weather Service Anchorage Alaska

05/04/2026

We’re so excited to be joining NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters on the 2026 Gulf Coast Hurricane Awareness Tour in Mobile, alongside our friends at US National Weather Service Mobile Alabama! Come see us and learn more about how NDBC weather buoys offer in-situ data that inform hurricane forecasting and help keep our communities safe and informed. Learn more about this event at https://www.weather.gov/mob/2026HAT

04/24/2026

The National Data Buoy Center is proud to announce our partnership with to support observations at Station 46012, Half Moon Bay, inside the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

has deployed Open Ocean Robotics’s DataXplorer platform to provide vital in-situ observations just like one of our weather buoys, removing the need for a moored station in a protected environment. This partnership allows our team to continue exploring the effectiveness of uncrewed systems in reducing impact on vulnerable areas of our oceans while reliably providing meteorological and oceanographic data, protecting life and property at sea and along our coasts.

Read more about our partnership with at https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/news/2026-04-noaa-usv-46012-monterey-bay-sanctuary.shtml

04/17/2026

To service our network of buoys every year, we plan for about 380 total days at sea, with teams often operating simultaneously in the Pacific and the Atlantic. This year we’re thrilled to be aboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, a NOAA vessel that typically operates in the Gulf of America. It was built in Moss Point, MS and is homeported in Pascagoula, MS (pictured below, docked at Port of Gulfport).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet includes 15 vessels used for research, fisheries, and hydrographic surveys…and now for buoy maintenance! 🛥️

We are thrilled to partner with NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) to support the NDBC mission of ensuring our nation’s maritime safety.

04/13/2026

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) is proud of our decades-long history of thriving alongside our U.S. Navy partners at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. We were honored to participate in the week’s events and tours celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Navy at Stennis, alongside our colleagues at Naval Oceanographic Office, Naval Oceanography, Naval Oceanography Operations Command, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory - NRL. Congratulations on 50 years of collaboration, innovation, and camaraderie at Stennis, and here’s to many more!.

03/24/2026

March marks the beginning of our mission season, and we’re kicking things off right!
Part of our team is already underway in the Pacific, servicing our TAO array aboard the M/V Bluefin. In the Atlantic, we’re gearing up to set off on NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, with plans to hit 9 stations on the first leg of our cruise!

We’ll give regular updates here as the season progresses, but you can always track our maintenance schedule on the NDBC website at https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ops.shtml.

03/06/2026

Do you see what we see? Your eyes aren’t lyin’: that’s a sea lion!

We recently spotted this visitor on the buoy cam at Station 46013 in Bodega Bay! To protect friendly visitors like this big guy, we install cages around the equipment on most of our West Coast Weather Buoys. This keeps sea life from sinking their teeth into anything that might hurt them and helps ensure we can continue to deliver reliable data to inform forecasting and protect life and property along our coasts and at sea!

02/13/2026

Looking for a unique way to let your special someone know how you feel about them this Valentine’s Day? Here are a few options to let them know that your love is as reliable as our data: quality assured by both man and machine, and consistent with the most rigorous international standards of excellence. ❤️

02/10/2026

Low pressure moving through the Aleutian Islands brought some high wind and wave action to two NDBC weather buoys in the Alaskan region. With significant wave heights as high as 47 feet, we’re cheering these stations on as they hang on tight to their moorings and ride out the system!

01/28/2026

While most of us are bundled up for this extreme wintery weather, our stations don't mind the cold! They are used to ❄️chilling❄️ out and keeping up with 🌊current🌊 weather events. But from time to time, some of our stations do experience icing.
Station TPLM2 in Thomas Point, MD recently lost wind data due to suspected icing on both anemometers. Fortunately, our wind data ultimately returned!
So even though temperatures remain below freezing, if you listen close, you may hear our team singing: the cold never bothered us, anyway!☃️

Address

Stennis Space Center, MS
39529

Website

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

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