Senate Commends NOAA for Hurricane Work

The U.S. Senate on November 18, 2004, passed a measure commending NOAA and its employees for its dedication and hard work during Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.

The resolution was introduced by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC). Read the full text of the resolution by clicking here.

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Winter Outlook Update Released

The December-January-February Winter Outlook was updated by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction on November 18, 2004.

The outlook calls for the enhanced likelihood of cooler-than-average temperatures in much of the East, Middle Atlantic, and South; warmer-than-average temperatures in Alaska, Hawaii, and the West; wetter-than-average conditions from New Mexico through Texas to Louisiana; and drier-than-average conditions over the Ohio Valley and the Northwest for this winter.

Much of the focus of what lies behind the forecast is the continuation of a weak El Niño event in the tropical Pacific, which NOAA is closely monitoring. This event is expected to continue into early 2005, but remain much weaker than the 1997-1998 El Niño that greatly affected parts of California.

This is the last U.S. seasonal outlook update for the 2004-05 winter.

Read the full NOAA news story here.

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Awareness, Ownership of 'Public Alert Devices' On the Rise, Survey Says

Consumers are more aware of the value of "public alert receivers"--such as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards-capable devices--and household penetration of "All-Hazards and weather radios has increased significantly from 13 percent in 2002 to 17 percent today," according to a recent study.

The findings were highlighted in a recent Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) news release based on a recent phone survey sponsored by the association. Read the CEA news release here.

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Education Initiative Kicks-Off with Record Crowd at Local Open House

Over 400 people attended a public open house at the Blacksburg, VA, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) on November 13, 2004, as part of its new initiative to educate the public, media, and emergency managers about NWS operations.

"With a waiting line that wrapped around the building, drawing people as far as three hours away, we were forced to extend the event for two extra hours," said Hendricus Lulofs, Warning Coordinator Meteorologist at WFO Blacksburg.

The open house consisted of stations where staff gave eight-minute presentations on topics including: Severe Weather, NOAA on the Internet, Hydrology, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, Electronics, and Upper Air Observations. The summer tornado outbreak was played back to the viewing public via radar images, and hands-on demonstrations using the NWS web site continued throughout the day. "People were constantly stopping to tell us how impressed they were with our technology and web site," Lulofs commented.

The success of the event was due to the collaborative efforts of the media and the Blacksburg staff.

"Adelphia Cable donated free advertising space on The Weather Channel, while other local TV stations promoted the event during the weather segment of the news. Several local print publications carried our press release on the event as well," Lulofs explained. Additional help was given by the local chapter of the Red Cross and the local Skywarn group. Virginia Tech Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), one of the largest ROTC organizations in the country, assisted the office by providing uniformed ROTC students to provide crowd control and enhance security.

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NWS Team Earns Geographic Information System Special Achievement Award

An NWS team recently earned one of two special achievement awards recognizing organizations that have "embraced Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to better serve our world."

Government contractor Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) produces numerous GIS products which are used throughout NOAA. ESRI sponsors the award.

The award cited NWS for demonstrating "that it is possible to integrate near real-time weather information from a range of sources and in multiple formats by geo-registering it and displaying it in map form." The project was designed to provide integrated sources of near real-time weather data to selected portions of the emergency management community. The project focused on hurricane/tropical storm strikes on and near misses with states on the U.S. Gulf, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic coasts.

Pictured from left are: John Kozimor, QSS Group, Inc. - Solutions for NWS Information Technology (SNITS) contract; Ira Graffman, NWS Office of Science and Technology; Jack Dangerman, ESRI President; Daniel Konde, QSS; and Rory Moore, QSS. Not pictured is Frank Richards, NWS Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, the leader of the GIS team that has a substantial prototype running on the NWS web page.

Read a more detailed article by ESRI here. Additional information about the awardees and the demonstration is available here.

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Also On the Web...AMS Accepting Comments on Weather Climate Enterprise Report

An American Meteorological Society (AMS) report by its ad hoc Committee on the Weather and Climate Enterprise is available online for review and comment.

In its report, the Committee has recommended that the AMS establish a new Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise. Among its duties, the Commission would facilitate dialogue between enterprise participants, and provide venues for enterprise participants to meet and discuss issues of importance to the enterprise.

The report can be found at http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/reports/index.html.

The web site also contains instructions on how to submit comments.

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NWS Snapshots

Click here for a look at photos we've received from around the NWS.

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