A number of agencies make use of ocean wind speeds for a variety of applications. The NCEP/Marine Prediction Center (MPC) is responsible for issuing wind warnings and ocean wave forecasts over portions of the North Atlantic and east Pacific. MPC high seas wind warnings are in bulletin format and MPC graphical analysis/forecasts are distributed directly to vessels at sea via U.S. Coast Guard marine radiofacsimile broadcasts. AMSU and SSM/I wind speed and precipitation data give the MPC forecaster a more complete picture of both wind field distribution and frontal structure related to extratropical cyclones. The wind speed information is more detailed than conventional synoptic observations and more quantitative than direct observations of satellite imagery. AMSU and SSM/I wind fields are also helping forecasters make adjustments to numerical wind and ocean wave forecast fields, resulting in further refinement of forecast products.

The NESDIS/Synoptic Analysis Branch (SAB) utilizes the SSM/I wind speed product to provide boundary layer information over the relatively data-sparse ocean areas. The product is used to supplement GOES satellite low-level wind vectors to diagnose moisture inflow for the generation and maintenance of precipitation. The wind speed product is also used by the SAB Tropical Team to complement their geostationary satellite analyses of tropical disturbances. Circulation centers associated with developing tropical disturbances often lack sufficient cloud cover to accurately determine their strength and precise location. This makes microwave wind speeds an invaluable data source for tropical analysis.