NWS Corporate Web Image, Phase One, Makes Debut

The NWS Internet home page (www.nws.noaa.gov) has a new look as of February 28, 2002. The new look is the first phase of what will become an entirely new corporate web image.

"The new NWS corporate web image will provide easier access to the huge number of NWS products and services for the public, with a specific focus on not requiring the public to understand NWS' bureaucratic structure," said Matt Strahan of Southern Region, Implementation Leader for the NWS Corporate Web Image Team. "It also has a strong focus on the rapid dissemination of our watches, warnings, and advisories."

This first phase will introduce a new top banner and menu style. The second phase will include the deployment of a common set of watch, warning, and advisory graphics. Also scheduled for phase two is a common, NWS-wide local forecast tool, which is searchable by city, state or zip code. The local forecast tool was successfully demonstrated to President Bush when he visited NWS headquarters on February 14, 2002. NWS-wide implementation of the second phase is planned for April 2002. A preview page of the all the coming functionality is available at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd.

According to Peter Weiss, NWS Headquarters Strategic Planning and Policy Office, over 1,300 comments on the NWS' new web design were received during a two-month public comment period, December 30 through February 28. While overwhelmingly positive, many included concrete suggestions for improvement. A number of significant technical issues regarding web browser compatibility, load speeds, and information accessibility were raised and incorporated in the final design.

The new web design received the NOAATECH 2002 award for IT accessibility at the last October's NOAATECH 2002 workshop. Read more about the award in the November 2, 2001, issue of NOAA's NWS Focus.

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NWS Recaps FY 01 and 1st Quarter FY 02 Progress for NOAA Administrator

On February 21, 2002, Deputy Director John Jones presented the NWS Quarterly Review to NOAA Administrator, Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy Ret., for all of FY 01 and the first quarter of FY 02.

At the end of every quarter, each NOAA line office presents a review of significant milestones, accomplishments, and other issues from that time period. This process allows each line office to update the NOAA Administrator and other line offices on significant activities from that quarter.

Some of the highlights Jones focused on for this briefing included the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance measures for FY 01 and significant service milestones (e.g., extended public weather forecasts) and forecasting (e.g., Tropical Storm Allison) accomplishments. Other accomplishments highlighted were the 24-hour production of the Collaborative Convection Forecast Product and the accurate 2001 Hurricane Season Outlook.

View this presentation at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/cfo/budget_formulation_program_analysis/program_planning.htm. Click on the 4th Quarter 2001 and 1st Quarter 2002 link under the "NWS Quarterly Review" section.

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 26, 2002, issued a "Report and Order" (R&O) amending the Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules.

The 56-page Report and Order indicates that the FCC adopted some key provisions in last year's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which the NWS supported. "The FCC adopted a critical provision permitting broadcasters to preselect which EAS messages they wish to display and log," said NWS Headquarters Dissemination Services Manager Herb White.

NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) and the EAS use identical digital protocols, and NWR is the primary means for NWS alerts to activate the Emergency Alert System.

"The FCC also adopted the NWS's naming convention for new event codes, numerous new event codes, and NWS' marine area location codes," White said.

"Several weather event codes omitted in the original FCC EAS rules were added, including a code for a Special Marine Warning. Also, a Child Abduction Emergency event code for use by civil authorities in connection with local, state, and regional 'AMBER' (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) plans was added." The AMBER plans are named after a child who was abducted in 1996 in Arlington, TX.

The FCC will not require, but will permit on a voluntary basis, broadcast stations and cable systems to upgrade their existing EAS equipment to add the new event and location codes, until such equipment is replaced. All new EAS equipment manufactured after August 1, 2003, must have the new codes.

"Since the broadcaster equipment upgrades are voluntary under this announcement," White said, "the challenge for the NWS is to coordinate with our partners in the broadcasting and emergency management communities to maximize the benefits of these FCC changes."

White said NWS offices should not begin using any new codes until authorized. NWS Headquarters will draft a NWS EAS rule change implementation and outreach plan to provide for an orderly transition to the use of the new codes.

The FCC's news release is online at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/News_Releases/DOC-220252A1.html. The R&O is available online in html, Acrobat, and Word formats at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2002/FCC-02-64A1.html.

Last year's FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on EAS Rules and NWS' submitted comments are online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/NWS_EAS.htm#NPRM.

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The closing ceremonies for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games on February 22 in Salt Lake City, UT, marked the successful completion of the first phase of weather support for the games by the Weather Support Group, a partnership between NWS, KSL Television, and the University of Utah. The team will continue support for the Paralympic Winter Games through March 17.

As part of its mission, the National Weather Service provided its routine products and services in support of public safety, emergency operations, traffic, security, aviation, and avalanche control for the Salt Lake City area. But in its role as a member of the Weather Support Group, the NWS also hosted the 2002 Winter Games Weather Operations Center where the 2002 Winter Games' Weather Support Group shared facilities with the staff of the NWS Forecast Office Salt Lake City and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center.

The challenging forecast for the Olympic opening ceremonies provided the team with an immediate test of their skills. The forecasters knew that strong winds blowing before the opening ceremony would have to calm to allow some elaborate puppets to be used in the ceremonies. Under intense pressure, the team said the winds would die down in time and, 30 minutes before the ceremony began, the winds died.

Forecasting for the Olympic closing ceremonies presented another challenge when a million dollars of fireworks were threatened by high winds approaching the area. The forecast team told officials they had to get the fireworks off by 9 p.m. The show ended just after 9 p.m. and less than 15 minutes later the high winds reached the stadium. These critical forecasts had no room for error and are a true credit to this unique forecasting partnership.

This is the first time in Olympic history that a partnership between government, private sector, and academia has been used to provide weather support. Mark Eubank, head of the KSL team, had this to say.

"Working together in the Olympic Partnership has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done as a meteorologist. When I first heard the proposal to have academia, government, and the private sector all work together in a common weather forecasting project I was slightly skeptical on how well it would work. As it turned out, that combination yielded greater results than the sum of its parts."

Additional information on the Olympics and the NWS personnel involved in the Weather Support Group is available in the January 11, 2002, issue of NOAA's NWS Focus.

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WFO Sponsoring Women in Science Conference with Labor Department Grant

On March 11, 2002, WFO Abdereen, SD, is sponsoring a Women In Science Conference. The conference, to be held on the Northern State University campus in Aberdeen, SD, is expected to host over 200 middle and high school students from Aberdeen and the surrounding area. It is modeled after a very successful effort begun in Wyoming by WFO Cheyenne.

"Our goal is to provide an opportunity for young women to learn about the endless opportunities available in science-related career fields and to create personal connections with professional women scientist," said Bill Tallman, Meteorologist-In-Charge, WFO Aberdeen. Tallman said the conference is the result of the cooperative efforts of a community along with the help of a $2,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provided through the South Dakota Department of Labor.

The free conference will feature eight women scientists with careers that span from microbiology and electrical engineering to pharmacy and veterinary medicine. MIC Brenda Brock from WFO Des Moines, IA, is one of the panelist and Darla Duval, Senior Scientist of Satellite Systems and Development at the USGS Earth Resources Observation Systems (EFOS) Data Center is the keynote speaker.

This first time effort by WFO Aberdeen is supported by a community team made up of the Aberdeen School District, Northern State University, Avera St. Lukes Hospital, Aberdeen Area Career Planning Center, and the One-Stop Career Center. The grant from the DOL will also help to fund a Women in Science conference in 2003.

"We believe these conferences will promote a positive image of science careers for young women that will help to increase the number of women in science programs in middle and high schools, as well as in universities. This should ultimately increase the pool of women applicants for NWS jobs in the future," said Tallman.

More information on the conference is available on the WFO Aberdeen web site at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/abr/women_in_science_conference.htm.

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NWS Establishes New Leadership Academy

To prepare employees for future leadership roles in the National Weather Service and NOAA, the NWS is establishing a new program of training opportunities collectively known as the NWS Leadership Academy.

"As we continue to advance technology and our understanding of the environment, we will also advance the leadership training for our people," said NWS Director Jack Kelly. "We are only as strong as the sum of our parts, and we need to grow our next generation of leaders by giving them the intellectual tools and leadership competencies to meet tomorrow's challenges."

According to Greg Mandt, Director of the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services (OCCWS) at NWS Headquarters, the Leadership Academy is a collection of classes offered in sequence to prepare people for greater responsibility and management opportunities. Some classes will be taught at the NWS Training Center (NWSTC) in Kansas City, MO, and others will be offered locally.

"From entry into the NWS to senior career status, employees will be able to take advantage of courses and processes that are part of a powerful learning environment," Mandt said.

Core elements of the academy curriculum are:

• New Employee Orientation: A new combination of self-guided, web-based training and local "buddy" system to welcome and assist new employees on learning about administrative requirements and procedures as well as the NWS mission and culture. (Under development)
• Field Operations Management: Focuses on technical management subjects for employees who are not supervisors but do have shift supervisory responsibilities. In addition, it contains some introductory leadership topics. (Resident NWSTC)
• Management and Supervision: Focuses on technical management and supervision subjects for supervisors. In addition, it contains some intermediate leadership topics. This course fulfills the 80-hour training requirement for new supervisors. (Resident NWSTC)
• Executive Leadership Seminar (ELS): New 2-week course, based on course offered by the Army, which concentrates on a broad spectrum of core leadership topics and competencies (i.e., understanding when to manage, when to lead, communication, personal leadership styles, ethical decision making, diversity, tapping potential, roles of the leader, and change). Open to all federal agencies, it offers a tremendous opportunity to generate solutions and exchange ideas. (Resident NWSTC)
• Advanced Leader Development (ALD): This 6-9 month development experience is still in the initial design phase. It focuses on advanced leadership competencies and contribution to NWS and NOAA. (Combination resident NWSTC, travel, and local job site)
• Regional/Headquarters Leadership Initiatives: This will be a continuous process similar to Southern Region's Building Leaders for a Solid Tomorrow (BLAST) Program, rather than a course. The responsibility for these initiatives will rest with the regions/headquarters. The initiatives will support NWS core values through ongoing professional development and will be based on responsiveness to organizational priorities and interests. (Under development)

The course schedules and other pertinent information are posted on the NWSTC homepage http://www.nwstc.noaa.gov/d.train/LEADER.HTML#ELS01. Course eligibility will be determined by the regions/headquarters with guidance from OCWWS.

Regions/headquarters will screen and select participants. According to LeRoy Spayd, Acting Chief, NWS Training Division, interested individuals should file training requests through their Meteorologist/Hydrologist-In-Charge, or supervisor, to the Region/Office training focal point. Completion certificates will be awarded for each element of the curriculum.

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Employee Milestones

• Click here to see NEW APPOINTMENTS/TRANSFERS to NWS through February 28, 2002.
• Click here to see RETIREMENTS/DEPARTURES from NWS through February 28, 2002.

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