Editors' Note: Time Flies When You're Having Fun

March 14, 2002, marked the one-year anniversary of NOAA's NWS Focus. We've used the occasion to kick-off a new look for Focus this week, one that conforms to the new NWS corporate web image.

We'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment and give us some feedback. Do you find Focus to be useful? Do you welcome its appearance in your e-mail box? Or do you delete us right away? Are there things that you'd like to hear about that are not currently covered in Focus? Go ahead, express yourself, we can handle it! Drop us a note at NWS.Focus@noaa.gov. We'll put together a summary of your thoughts and share them with you in an NOAA's NWS Focus report card article in a future issue. But we only promise to share those comments that are suitable for a general audience!

We are always interested in receiving stories from you. You are "Working Together to Save Lives" in your jobs everyday, and we'd like to see each office/center send us an example of how you are working with partners and customers. We'll share the very best examples in Focus. We may even present an award for the best submission. But it may be more of a virtual award than a real one–that is, don't pack your bags!

We thank you for your readership and your support. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming....

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Notes From Deputy Director
by John E. Jones, Jr.

• NWS Welcomes New EEO Manager to Headquarters

The National Weather Service has selected a new NWS EEO Manager. Rufus Caruthers will come on board on April 8, 2002. He comes to us from the U.S. Forest Service where he was the Regional Director of Civil Rights for six years. He has worked for the Forest Service for over 22 years. We look forward to Mr. Caruthers becoming part of the NWS family and leading in our efforts in the area of under representation.

• Final Survey Numbers Are In, Next Step Starts Soon

The final numbers are in from NOAA, 3611 NWS employees filled out the SFA survey! For every four of your colleagues, three of them wanted to give input into the process. In the 1998 SFA, 65 percent of NWS employees filled out the survey, this time it was 75 percent, that's an increase of 10 percent. We have demonstrated that we want to improve our work environment so we can do even greater things for the American public.

By the end of the month the contractor will provide the results of the survey to the work group supervisors and the feedback sessions can begin. Many of you have already scheduled their feedback sessions. I strongly encourage you all to have the first session facilitated. The funds are in the budget for you to have a NOAA employee as a facilitator or an external contractor. The decision is yours; the most important thing is to discuss the results with your work group at the feedback session and develop action items to improve your work environment.

I want to thank each and every one of you who filled out a survey, who enthusiastically support the SFA process and helped convinced your colleagues to fill out the survey. The next step starts soon. Everyone, whether you filled out a survey or not, can participate in the feedback sessions for your work group and develop the action plan to improve your work environment.

Let's find out what we can do better for each other and for the American public; Working Together to Save Lives!

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Representatives from the energy industry met the NOAA Administrator and several NOAA experts during a breakfast on March 13, 2002, focusing on NOAA's Energy Initiative. The informal meeting was the latest gathering of NOAA experts and industry leaders.

NOAA Administrator Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. USN (Ret.) presented a brief overview of NOAA's proposed Energy Initiative and discussed his vision and agenda for NOAA in working with its partners in the energy sector. A summary of NOAA programs and services that affect the energy industry was offered by David Rogers, Director, Office of Weather and Air Quality, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Participants then discussed issues important to them and their partners in the energy industry.

"The Energy Roundtable was a successful forum for exchanging views and ideas on common problems," said NOAA External Affairs Director Bob Hopkins who orchestrated the meeting with help from the participating NOAA line offices.

Hopkins said participants appreciated the opportunity to meet with Admiral Lautenbacher and NOAA's senior leadership to share their perspective and learn about NOAA programs and services that benefit the energy industry and ultimately American consumers. "The key now is follow up and continuing the dialogues begun here," Hopkins added.

Several of the associations said that accurate weather forecasts were critical to their members and participants voiced overall support for improvements in expanding the availability of weather data and improving accuracy of temperature forecasts. Participants also expressed a desire for science-based government policies they can use to make business decisions.

Attendees included representatives from the following energy-related trade groups: American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Coal Council, National Hydropower Association, National Mining Association, National Ocean Industries Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, and United States Energy Association.

NWS participants included NWS Director Brig. Gen. Jack Kelly, USAF (Ret.), and Jack Hayes, Director, NWS Office of Science and Technology.

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Meteorologist in Charge John Gordon joined U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Huntsville) recently on a tour of the soon-to-be Weather Forecast Office at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville, AL. Under construction near the University of Alabama's Huntsville Campus, the new office is scheduled to be operational by early Spring 2003. Gordon and Cramer were joined on the tour by NSSTC representatives, university officials, county emergency managers and members of the news media.

When the new office opens, a staff of 18 will provide weather forecasts and warnings for an 11-county area in northern Alabama. The staff will also work closely with NASA university researchers on a variety of weather and space related projects. Gordon says he would like the new office to become known as the "Boulder of the East" – in recognition of the excellent weather research conducted in the Colorado office. Gordon said he was particularly interested in working with the NASA researchers in the hope of developing a lightning warning system. Previously, Gordon was the lead forecaster at the WFO in Nashville, TN. To see photos of the tour, click here.

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Working Together to Save Lives
Olympic Forecasters Support Paralympics

Although they were enjoying warm and sunny conditions for early March in Northern Utah, forecasters at the Salt Lake NWS Forecast Office geared up for a winter storm they knew could impact the opening ceremony for the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games, held March 7-16, 2002, in Salt Lake City. The Paralympics are Olympic-style games for athletes with disabilities. A team of NWS forecasters are supporting these games that end tomorrow.

A unique partnership, called the Weather Support Group, provided forecasts for both the Olympics and Paralympics. The Weather Support Group is made up of NWS staff from the Salt Lake City WFO teamed with thirteen private meteorologists, professors and students from the University of Utah, and five meteorologists from other NOAA offices on temporary assignment in Salt Lake.

Winter weather conditions brought the mountains a fresh cloak of snow on the eve of the opening ceremonies for this worldwide event and postponed some of the first day's competitions. More than 1,000 athletes and team officials representing 36 countries participate in the Paralympic Winter Games.

"This approaching storm made us feel like we've been here, done that before!" said Tom Niziol, an NWS meteorologist from Buffalo, NY, on temporary assignment as an Olympic forecaster in Salt Lake City. "We saw the same threatening weather conditions lining up just as they did last month during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games. However, we also knew we had the best meteorology team on our side and we were determined to provide the best forecasts for these athletes and the public who would be attending the events."

"Lightning, associated with the cold front, was a major concern because we learned they planned to use many metal objects in the ceremony," said Dave Toronto, NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist in Salt Lake City, who was on duty during the event. "But, with each updated NOAA computer model run and the additional data we received from the University of Utah computer runs, we knew the cold front would not make its arrival until well after the ceremonies ended," added Toronto.

Lead forecaster Joel Cline, on assignment from the NWS Forecast Office in Raleigh, NC, for the Olympic Games added his thoughts. "Weather forecasting is what we do and the way we can help the most. Spending just one minute with these athletes inspires you. We all want to be part of these events and do the best job we can. It makes your spirit soar to be part of something so inspiring. Spirits were at an all time high when we knew our forecast wouldn't deter the opening ceremonies and we're here to support the Paralympics."

To see the results from the 2002 Paralympic Game competitions, visit the official site for the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games. For background information on the history of the Paralympic Games, see the site of the International Paralympic Committee.

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Center Hosts Severe Weather Workshop and Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The NWS's Storm Prediction Center (SPC), hosted the 2002 National Severe Weather Workshop on March 1-2, 2002, in Norman, OK. The workshop was sponsored by the NOAA Weather Partners in Norman, NWS Central Region Headquarters, the Central Oklahoma Chapters of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association, and the Oklahoma Emergency Management Association. Over 380 people, representing 29 states, attended.

"This unique national event gave emergency managers, broadcast meteorologists, researchers and forecasters from around the country an opportunity to get together and discuss how to better protect the lives of American citizens," said Joseph Schaefer, SPC Director.

Among those addressing the workshop were Ron Castleman, Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI ; Craig Fugate, Florida Division of Emergency Management; John Scala, The Weather Channel; Martin Murphy, Global Atmospherics; Bob Ryan, WRC-TV, Washington, DC, and Jeff Piotrowski, Baron Services, Inc.

Emergency Manager Tommy Thornton from Burkburnett, TX, said the workshop was well organized and contained valuable information.

"During the conference, it was evident that the NWS wants to work with emergency managers to prepare for severe weather," Thornton said. "It all boils down to the fact that we are all here for one reason and that is to help save lives and property." The NWS theme of "working together to save lives" was echoed throughout the workshop.

During the workshop, the SPC also celebrated its 50th Anniversary at a March 1 banquet. Norman Civil Air Patrol Cadets opened the program with a posting of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. Steve Weiss, SPC Science and Operations Officer (SOO), and Robert Johns, Retired SPC SOO, gave a detailed history of severe weather forecasting. The event was attended by 190 guests.

For pictures of the celebration, click here.

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Forecaster Leads Expedition Up Mount Washington

Bob Wanton, General Forecaster and Educational Outreach Program Director at WFO Mt. Holly, NJ, recently led three Pennsylvania teachers and a recent Rutgers graduate to the top of Mount Washington in North Conway, NH.

"For meteorologists and teachers, this was an ideal educational experience," said Wanton. "We witnessed hurricane-force winds and hiked the mountain in 10 degree temperatures." The trip included a tour of the Mount Washington Observatory and a briefing by observatory staff.

The Mount Washington Observatory is a non-profit institution that helps advance knowledge of the unique meteorology and natural sub-arctic environment on the mountain. According to the Observatory website, http://www.mountwashington.org, the first regular meteorological observations on Mount Washington were conducted by the U.S. Signal Service, a precursor of the National Weather Service, from 1870-1892. The Observatory continues to record and disseminate weather information today.

According to teacher Bill Dyke, "The trip exceeded the expectations of all of us. Bob does a terrific job for the National Weather Service."

This is the second trip organized by Wanton up Mount Washington. The first was in June 2001. Wanton's efforts to organize this trip support his leadership efforts for the local DataStreme Project, an educational program for teachers sponsored by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The DataStreme Project, http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS/, is a teacher enhancement program conducted by the AMS, in cooperation with the NWS and the State University of New York at Brockport. This unique tuition-free, three semester-hour distance learning graduate course is offered to K-12 teachers and provides meteorology principles and real-time environmental data that have classroom applications. The program provides experiences demonstrating the value of computers and electronic access to time-sensitive information.

Click here to see pictures of the from the expedition.

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Also On the Web...WFO Green Bay

• Women's History Month. One Weather Forecast Office is marking Women's History Month in March by featuring historic photos on its Web page. WFO Green Bay, WI, offers images of women who served in the office during World War II at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/history.html. Green Bay was the first office of the Weather Bureau to have a woman meteorologist in charge in 1943.

• WFO Reaches Out to Students. Presentations given at the NWS's exhibit booth at the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA's) "Aviation Days" event held on February 25 - March 1, 2002, reached the equivalent of 40 classrooms of students. At the event, held in Oshkosh, WI, staff from the WFO Green Bay office gave presentations on how weather is measured, how it is forecast, and how it affects flight. The event featured activities in aviation and related sciences for fourth grade students. Read about how the NWS's contribution to the event helped to make it a success at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/outreach/2002eaa-ad/aviationdays.html.