A familiar marine chart can disappear because its product is being replaced, rather than because conditions have improved or data have become unnecessary. A new National Weather Service notice gives users time to check which sea-state analysis they save, display or receive before a planned December change.
What the October notice announces
NWS Service Change Notice 26-97 was issued October 30, 2026. It says that beginning December 1, 2026, regional sea-state analyses will be discontinued and full-ocean-basin analyses for the North Atlantic and North Pacific will be issued with effective times of 00 and 12 UTC. At the November 5 check, that implementation date is still in the future.
The notice identifies eight regional Atlantic and Pacific wind-and-wave analysis products for retirement and lists the full-basin replacement products and links. It explains that the smaller regional areas were already part of the full-basin analyses. The announcement concerns those named analysis products; it does not say that all marine forecasts or local warnings are ending.
Read the named replacement rather than infer a schedule
The document’s narrative and new-product table describe the intended 00/12 UTC full-basin arrangement. One existing-product table uses inconsistent wording about current issuance frequency. This article therefore does not infer a before-and-after percentage increase or a new forecast resolution from that table. Use the explicit implementation statement and ask NWS for clarification if a data workflow depends on the present schedule.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Product identity | A saved regional image and a full-basin image are different products |
| Effective time | The chart’s valid time is different from when you opened it |
| Geographic coverage | An ocean-basin analysis does not establish conditions at an individual launch |
| Current notice status | A future change should be rechecked before implementation |
Prepare a useful handover
A dive club or paddling organizer that shares weather resources can record the actual product name, official link and purpose beside each bookmark. If a briefing relies on an old image filename, identify that dependency before the change rather than assuming an empty panel means calm water. Preserve the distinction between an analysis of a stated time and a forecast for a later period.
The NWS notice index currently lists SCN26-97 and is the place to check for later revisions. Recheck the official product and appropriate local forecasts and warnings for the actual location and time. This article supplies no operating weather threshold, route approval or live forecast. No chart viewer, subscription or automated briefing has been changed by TRIMIX.
Evidence and date notes
Dated development checked November 5, 2026. The source announcement, event or implementation dates are separate from this article’s publication date. No TRIMIX attendance, hands-on testing or video-playback verification is claimed. NWS Service Change Notice 26-97: 2026-10-30 | NWS current service-change notice index: undated; exact publication day not shown.
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