Editors' Note: Feedback–Good, Bad, and Ugly

When we celebrated our one year anniversary, we asked for feedback on NOAA's NWS Focus. Well, there's feedback and then there's feedback!

One employee suggested that Friday is a bad publication date. He said he was often too busy to read NOAA's NWS Focus on Fridays, and by Monday forgot it was in his mailbox. We've changed our publication date to accommodate his request. Here's hoping he starts his week Focused.

For everyone who sent us kudos on the new format, thanks. But several of you wrote that our new format caused printing problems. We've added a link to a printer-friendly version. Let us know if you still have problems.

And finally, to the person who asked to be removed from the mailing list, you will just have to keep hitting delete. There is no mechanism for removing an employee from a global mailing.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas!

Rave Reviews for Graphical Digital Forecast

A new experimental product called the Graphical Digital Forecast (RDF) is getting rave reviews in the NWS Eastern Region (see http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/mhx/digital/095.htm), reported I. Ross Dickman, Eastern Region AWIPS Program Manager. In response, Eastern Region Headquarters developed a customer database to collect information and improve the product further (see http://www.werh.noaa.gov/awips/feedback/feedback.htm).

"The experimental graphical RDF is just one of many products derived from the Interactive Forecast Preparation System [IFPS] Digital Database," said Dickman. The experimental graphical RDF provides a graphic format of weather parameters such as temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, sky cover, weather, and probability of precipitation in an easy to read format. Customer feedback to this new experimental product has been overwhelmingly positive.

Carin Goodall, Science Operations Officer (SOO) at WFO Morehead City, NC, developed the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS)-based local program which produces the RDF. Goodall has been adapting the program based on the feedback received from customers.

According to Dickman, this product would not be available without IFPS. "IFPS is revolutionizing how the NWS will prepare forecasts and disseminate products in the future. No longer will we need to manually type text-based forecast products," he said. With IFPS, NWS forecasters interact with visual meteorological fields while working within the common digital database. "Forecasts of the future will be DIGITAL, DETAILED, and DISPLAYABLE in new and improved ways," said Dickman.

Fifteen Mark Trail/NOAA Weather Radio public service awards were presented during a Capitol Hill luncheon April 17, 2002, in Washington, DC. The sixth annual Mark Trail Awards recognized individuals and groups that made contributions to expand and improve NOAA Weather Radio coverage, awareness and radio receiver ownership across the nation. The awardees included a state governor, a county judge, a volunteer group, a federal agency and several other groups and individuals. Click here for the list of awardees and the full NOAA news release.

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Working Together to Save Lives:
Tallahassee WFO Moves to Florida State University

From its new location on the Florida State University (FSU) campus, the weather forecast office (WFO) in Tallahassee is expected to become a leading center for meteorological studies, while continuing to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts and warnings to the citizens of northern Florida, southwest Georgia, and southeast Alabama. The goals of this collaboration are to help motivate and train a new generation of quality meteorologists, discover ways to better protect the public, and to foster research projects that will advance the science of weather and climate. To learn more about this partnership read the press release issued by the NWS Office of Public Affairs.

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Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) Hosts Hurricane Forecasting Workshop

Employees at the Tropical Predication Center in Miami are helping educate their Caribbean neighbors during a two week workshop/training course on hurricane forecasting and warning, sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization, that began April 15, 2002. This annual event provides familiarization and training on state-of-the-art techniques related to tropical cyclone prediction, warning, and public awareness. The select group of participants are forecasters drawn from tropical cyclone prone countries around the world, primarily from the Carribean and the Far East. The conference format combines lectures and hands-on exercises. This allows considerable interaction between students and course instructors. "Quite often, storms which threaten the western Atlantic or Pacific rims become threats to U.S. interests," said Max Mayfield, TPC director. "Interactions with forecasters from these regions–before the season–are extremely beneficial for all nations."

Tsunami Awareness Month Underway in Hawaii

On April 2, 2002, the Hawaii House of Representatives presented a proclamation to the NWS declaring April Tsunami Awareness Month. John Jones, NWS Deputy Director, and Jim Weyman, Acting Director of NWS Pacific Region, received the proclamation (click here for a photo of the event). The month of April was chosen for this designation to commemorate the lives of those lost during the April 1, 1946, tsunami which claimed 159 lives in Hawaii.

Also during April, the Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) and International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC), both operated by NWS, are collaborating with Hawaii Civil Defense and the Pacific Tsunami Museum on several tsunami public awareness activities. On April 2 and 9, the PTWC and ITIC directors appeared on KidScience, a live program carried on Hawaii Public Television and aired in public schools. Emphasizing safety preparedness, they answered questions and conducted demonstrations to illustrate the science and impacts of tsunamis. PTWC and ITIC are sponsoring display booths at several public events and PTWC is hosting tours each Friday and Saturday in April.

Earth Day Alert! Calling for Your Pictures and Stories

Earth Day is a time to showcase volunteerism and environmental consciousness. Tell us about what your office did to commemorate Earth Day (April 22, 2002) and in an upcoming issue of NOAA's NWS Focus, we'll highlight your efforts with a story and pictures. Send your digital photos and stories to NWS.Focus@noaa.gov.

Update Your Communication Toolbox

The Communications Office posts tools on its website to help NWS employees, at all levels, tell the NWS story to a variety of audiences. "Our goal by providing communication tools is to help employees speak in one voice and delivery consistent messages," said Communications Office Director Randee Exler. Recent additions and updates are highlighted:

• Weather-Related Economic Statistics : Adding statistics about the economic impacts of weather to your presentations, papers, and even conversations, helps demonstrate the importance of the work you do and the National Weather Service mission. Kudos to Margaret Fowke, of the Strategic Planning and Policy Office for confirming the accuracy of these statistics and citing their sources.
• NWS 101 Briefing (Updated April 2002): This presentation, created for a general audience, has been used to orient new members of the NOAA management team. Posted in Corel, Powerpoint, and Adobe formats, you can download these slides and modify as appropriate for your audience.
• Mission, Vision, Core Values (April 2002): By request, the Communications Office has recreated these slides for anyone wanting a new set. Many offices have posted these on their walls.
  

Are You Aware?

The Fall 2001/Winter 2002 issue of Aware is out. This quarterly publication, compiled and edited by Linda Kremkau and Melody Magnus, both of the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, helps keep our employees and the hazards community informed of NWS programs and hazard awareness activities. According to Kremkau, Aware is one of the most popular means of communicating developments at the NWS to its partners, with over more than 1,300 printed copies distributed to NWS offices, emergency managers, educators, and the general public. The current issue is also available online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/aware.PDF.

In addition, AwareNow offers constant online updates to Aware. It can be accessed at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/awarenow.htm.

Calling all Eastern Region Alumni, Again!

Dean Gulezian, Eastern Region Director, correctly pointed out that the last issue of NOAA's NWS Focus listed an incorrect starting time for the upcoming Eastern Region Reunion. Here's the correct version:

All current and retired NWS employees and friends are invited to the seventh NWS Eastern Region Reunion on June 3, 6:00 p.m., at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, Long Island, NY. For information or to make a reservation, contact Fred Zuckerberg at 516-621-7551 or fredz11@earthlink.net.