National Weather Service Building a Weather Ready Nation
The NWS is a federal agency Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service
Today s National Weather Service Approx. 4800 employees 122 Forecast Offices 13 River Centers 9 Special Centers Annual budget of ~$900 million Lots and lots of warnings, forecasts, and observations for that price
NWS offices covering Michigan 5
NWS Gaylord Area of Responsibility Lake Superior 25 Counties 13 marine zones bordering 3 of the 5 Great Lakes (750 miles of coastline) Lake Michigan Lake Huron
Aviation Responsibility 4 aviation forecast locations PLN TVC APN MBL
WFO Gaylord A staff of 22 employees 6 Office/Program Managers (MIC, SOO, WCM, ESA, ITO and OPL) 9 Staff Meteorologists (some offices have more) 4 Associate Forecasters (interns) 2 Electronic Technicians 1 Administrative Support Assistant 24 x 7 x 365
Why do we need a Weather Service? A Typical Year Brings: 7 Hurricanes 1,000 Tornadoes 5,000 Floods 10,000 violent Thunderstorms Drought somewhere in the United States
We live in a relatively quiet severe weather area
But we sometimes get severe weather
Vision What is a Weather-Ready Nation? Enhanced community resilience Americans empowered to make faster, smarter and life-saving decisions Transformed response to extreme weather More lives and livelihoods saved
Federal Infrastructure Building a Weather-Ready Nation Partnerships are at the tip of the iceberg Radar Network Weather Balloons Data Buoys Satellites Volunteer Ground-Level Network Observations Stream Gauge Network Flood Warnings 13 River Forecast Centers Media Industry Government Non-Profits & Associations 122 Weather Forecast Offices Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Prediction Aviation & Ocean Forecasts Space Weather Hurricane Forecasts 9 National Centers for Environmental Prediction Forecasts Climate and Seasonal Outlooks Model Simulations Partnerships 13
Decision Support Services Future of NWS will be focused on supporting high impact events where weather is a factor. NWS will provide decision support services to core partners with a similar mission. Courtesy of WDIV
Decision Support Services Extend our reach with new technologies The reach is rapidly becoming two-way, interactive, and more personal
Decision Support Tools 16
www.weather.gov/gaylord www.weather.gov/marquette
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Decision Support Tools Spot Forecasts Site-specific forecast Valid up to 36 hours Available on the web 30 minutes or less You choose forecast parameters you want Link to request on hidden HazMat website and fire weather section of website Due to computer security issues, we may have to enter the information for you Not just for fire weather community! HazMat Search and Rescue Operations Special Events Wildfire and Prescribed burn operations http://www.crh.noaa.gov/nnn/?n=firewx where nnn = either dtx, grr, apx, mqt or iwx
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HazMat Incidents Vienna Township, 8-04-2009 Northern Lower Michigan Hamtramck, 8-27-2009 Detroit, 8-24-2009
Decision Support Tools Non-Weather Emergency Messages WOUS43 KPAH 200354 CEMPAH KYC075-083-105-201000 BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVIATION REQUESTED CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE KENTUCKY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1054 PM CDT THU OCT 19 2006 THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE KENTUCKY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY IN FULTON COUNTY KENTUCKY. AT 1045 PM CDT...A RAILROAD CAR LOCATED IN A RAILROAD YARD IN FULTON KENTUCKY CONTINUED TO LEAK DANGEROUS HYDROCHLORIC ACID GAS. RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN EVACUATED WITHIN A HALF MILE RADUIS OF THE LEAK...AND OTHERS ARE URGED TO REMAIN AT LEAST A HALF MILE AWAY FROM THE RAILROAD YARD. STAY TUNED TO LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS EVENT. Civil Emergency Message: Issued to alert the public of a potentially life-threatening, nonweather emergency. This includes such events as a hazardous chemical release, earthquake, and nuclear attack. Such a product is usually issued upon the request of state or local emergency management officials.
NOAA Weather Radio - Your own personal Siren Receive weather information 24 hours a day Radio will sound a tone to alert you when a watch or warning has been issued Countless times, lives have been saved by NOAA Weather Radio
Decision Support Tools Dispersion Modeling
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HYSPLIT Dispersion Model
HYSPLIT Model Plumes HYSPLIT Dispersion HYSPLIT Trajectory
HYSPLIT Model Plumes/Trajectories Description Dispersion Model Forecasts the evolution of a smoke/chemical plume over time and space (location, concentration) Trajectory Model Forecasts where a parcel would travel from a given point starting at a specific elevation Needed Information Additional Information required (burn size, duration, email) All gathered from spot request Request Method Phone Spot Forecast Request Delivery Method Email Email How It s Done NWS Forecaster runs model Automated Return Time Up to ½ hour Few minutes
Questions? james.keysor@noaa.gov