Testimony on Legislature Bill No. 36-0026  
 “… to establish the Virgin Islands Meteorological Office to monitor weather conditions, provide 
accurate forecasts, establish a Doppler Weather Radar Station in St. Croix, and enhance preparedness 
and response to weather-related hazards in the Territory.”   
 
May 20, 2025  
 
To:   
The Honorable Avery L. Lewis and the Members the Committee on Government 
Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection, 36th Legislature of the 
Virgin Islands of the United States   
 
From:   
Roy A. Watlington 
 
 
18-1 Estate Hope, St. Thomas, VI 00802 
 
 
P.O. Box 302321, St. Thomas, VI 00803 
 
 
(340) 643-8183 
rawatlington@gmail.com 
 
 
 
Subject: 
This testimony is offered to support certain aspects of Bill 36-0026, while 
suggesting hesitation on others, and offering cautionary observations with respect 
to funding.   
  
My name is Roy A. Watlington, and I am a retired professor, principal investigator and 
administrator at the University of the Virgin Islands,  a founding board member of the Caribbean 
Coastal Ocean Observing System and the USVI Science Representative to the National Tsunami 
Hazard Mitigation Program.  My academic preparation includes two degrees in physics, one in 
science education and five years residence in training in the Department of Meteorology and 
Physical Oceanography at the University of Miami.  I have played major roles in recruiting funding 
and deploying weather stations at Sandy Point, St. Croix; Buck & Capella Islands, St. Thomas; and 
at three other sites.  Additionally, I have been involved in establishing and maintaining the long-
serving data buoy stationed south of St. John and the current-measuring high-frequency radar 
station at Flamingo Point, Water Island.  While at UVI, I taught a freshman course on natural 
hazards, published papers on related topics, and have been a frequent presenter on hurricane 
and tsunami awareness in FEMA-sponsored courses and at disaster-management workshops, 
sponsored by the private sector.  
  
I strongly support the intent of Bill 36-0029 in that it could bring meteorological skills and 
capabilities to the US Virgin Islands through the establishment of a Meteorological Office within 
the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency.  Such capabilities have long been 
lacking.  The hiring of one or more meteorology professionals into a Meteorological Office within 
VITEMA could enhance collaboration and communication with the National Weather Service in 
San Juan and accelerate decision-making when hazards threaten. It could also provide more 
expert voices in informing Virgin Islanders about meteorological matters, such as drought and 
flooding in addition to tropical storms and provide VITEMA with the scientific and technical 
expertise necessary to make decisions about acquiring technology, such as a Doppler radar.  
  
Fortunately, some of the proposed intended services are already available – albeit with 
improvements always needed - some by VITEMA and some provided with federal funding by the 
Territory’s stakeholder privileges extended from National Weather Service in San Juan, or through 
pro bono contributors such as the non-profit organizations with which I work.  
  
I support the bill’s call for, “… a comprehensive needs assessment to evaluate the necessity and 
feasibility of establishing a Doppler radar weather station on the east end of St. Croix”.  Attempting 
to install the technology associated with a Doppler radar station before feasibility is established 
and costs and funding assessed,  is not advisable.  While its data output could be useful in “filling 
gaps” when incorporated into the data products already available through the National Weather 
Service, the data from a stand-alone Doppler radar station requires much processing and 
preparation to be useful and made available to the public.  Further, the equipment and physical 
facility is likely to be very expensive to install and maintain, at a time when both territorial and 
federal funding are likely to be very difficult to secure.    
  
Bill 36-0026 is welcome because it brings attention to unfulfilled technical needs of the USVI.  and 
to the assets and services already being provided through threatened federal programs that may 
soon need to be funded by the Government of the Virgin Islands. Additionally, the bill provides 
an opportunity to realistically assess the Territory’s prospects for assembling funds for such 
important endeavors at this critical time.  
  
Thank you for receiving this testimony.