Sociologist Studies Meteorologists

Gary Fine, professor of sociology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, spent a year observing meteorologists at the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Quad Cities Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) as well as the Storm Prediction Center. Last February he shared his findings with the Chicago chapter of the American Meteorological Society. NWS Director Jack Kelly took note of his presentation and asked Fine to address the Corporate Board at its recent meeting. Following is a summary of Fine’s presentation:

Fine’s work focused on the sociology of operational meteorology to determine how government forecasters operate. He describes the work performed by meteorologists as being very close to medical work with radar analysis being similar to reviewing CAT scans. He says, however, that doctors have an advantage over meteorologists in that their images are typically stable; forecasters have to make their diagnoses in real time in an environment that is constantly changing.

According to Fine, operational meteorologists, like most scientists, wish to control their own work. This desire for autonomy is offset by the desire for consistency by the organization. He says, “they realize that they represent an organization that is larger than them alone. Yet they also feel that they have a need for flexibility and personal judgement that bureaucratic rules should not hobble.” He concludes “The issue...is balance. The organization should be trusting that its workers are competent to make decisions when the need arises and workers should be willing to work within organizational guidelines unless unusual circumstances demand otherwise.”

Fine says finding this balance is not easy. An example is the issuance of forecasts. Fine observed that words are important to forecasters. He says, “choice of wording emphasizes personal control and the human art of forecasting.” With the introduction of the Interactive Forecast Preparation System, the primary job of the forecaster is changing from writing forecast text to manipulating a database.

Fine also observed that individual offices have their own cultures. These cultures are not simply the result of personalities of the individuals who work there. An office maintains much of its culture even after most of the previous management or employees have died, retired or transferred. New employees are socialized into the office culture.

Fine concludes that the work of forecasters must be viewed in the context of social systems. “Science,” he says, “does not float upon the winds, but is inevitably grounded in human relations.”

Link here to read Fine’s presentation “Authors of the Storm: Some Things A Sociologist has Learned about Meteorologists and the Weather.”

After reading his paper, tell us what you think. Send your comments to NWS.Focus@noaa.gov by August 30. We will summarize them in an upcoming issue of NOAA's NWS Focus.

Recognized as one of the top scientists in the country and in her field, Janice Sylvestre of NWS’s Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD) recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the national Women of Color Government and Defense Technology Training Conference in Washington, DC.

Sylvestre is among 30 of “the country's most dynamic female executives, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and researchers” honored for their career achievements by the Career Communications Group, Inc., publishers of U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology and Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazines (the Nation's leading technical publications for minorities).

“Janice transforms the entire organization with her presence,” said Gary Carter, OHD Director. “She received this award because of her scientific contributions to river mechanics and computational hydraulics that have resulted in better predictions for America's rivers and streams, as well as her decades-long work mentoring students.”

Each year the award sponsors hold a conference to examine the critical role women continue to play in this Nation's defense and government and to celebrate those exceptional role models who have maneuvered past career obstacles, broken through the "glass ceiling," and emerged as top professionals in their fields. Visit the organization’s web site for more details on the award winners and the organization’s magazines.

BACK TO TOP

New NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) Transmitters Broadcasting in Steuben County, NY

On August 1, 2002, Dean Gulezian, NWS Eastern Region Director, and DeWitt Baker, Chairman of the Steuben County, NY, Legislature signed an agreement which officially began the broadcasts of two new NOAA weather radio (NWR) transmitters in Steuben County. The ceremony took place at the Steuben County Legislative Chamber in Bath, NY.

The transmitters will serve Steuben County and the surrounding southern tier of New York and northern tier of Pennsylvania, as well as the western Finger Lakes. Gulezian gave the keynote address at the ceremony, stressing the importance of NWR to the County. “Steuben County has seen nine Presidential Disaster Declarations from severe weather and flooding over the past 12 years, including extensive damage from the Agnes flood of June 1972,” said Gulezian. “Wider dissemination of NWR warnings in this area will save lives.”

The transmitters were installed with funding from grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service. Mike Sprague, Director of the Office of Emergency Services for Steuben County, also spoke about the years of hard work needed to make these transmitters a reality, and acknowledged the efforts of NWS’s Binghamton, NY, forecast office staff.

The ceremony concluded with a test of the NWR tone alert capability. A nearby collection of the different types of weather radios were all activated by the test.

BACK TO TOP

Derechos: A Museum Video, Not a Snackfood

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City has completed a three-minute video about derechos (day-RAY-chos), featuring the huge derecho that raked through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in far northeastern Minnesota on July 4, 1999.

A derecho is a widespread, usually fast-moving thunderstorm wind event. Derechos can produce damaging straight-line winds over areas hundreds of miles long and more than 100 miles across.

The “Earth Bulletin” video features three staff members from the Duluth, MN, Weather Forecast Office: Meteorologist-In-Charge Michael Stewart, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Carol Christenson, and Science and Operations Officer Edward Shimon.

The crew from the museum visited late last summer to investigate and film the video. They followed Christenson as she conducted a Skywarn Spotter training session on the Gunflint Trail, in the heart of the damage or blowdown area” of the derecho. The crew also spent time in the NWS office to learn more about derechos.

“In this derecho, a quarter million acres of trees were levelled in a 30-mile-long, 12-mile-wide area. Miraculously, there were no deaths, but 20 injuries, mainly broken limbs from falling trees,” Christenson said.

The video is part of an interactive kiosk in the museum’s “Hall of Planet Earth.” This video and kiosk is available to museums nationwide. Currently the McClung Museum in Salt Lake City, UT, is featuring the video.

You can view the video at http://earthbulletin.amnh.org.

BACK TO TOP

NWS Gets Positive Feedback on Forecast Assistance To Peru

The Peruvian Meteorological Service praised the NWS for assistance provided in support of disaster relief operations and forecasting. Right now in Peru, the transition to El Niño conditions is resulting in an unusually strong cold spell across the southern portion of the country. The cold temperatures and the inflow of subtropical moisture are resulting in snowfall on elevations above 4,000 meters.

The NWS South American Desk, co-located with the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) in Camp Springs, MD, has been providing extensive coverage of this event. Juan Coronado, Chief of the Peruvian Meteorological Section and Jorge Chira, both alumni of NWS’s South American Desk, indicated that NWS’s assistance has been indispensable in support of the Peruvian Meteorological Service.

Also On the Web...Survey Says Managers Need Timely Financial Data

• FirstGov Site Available for Seniors. Retiring soon, or know someone who is retired? Here’s a link to government information geared toward retirees.

• NWS Paper in the July issue of the Bulletin of American Meteorological Society (AMS). The National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) paper, titled "NCEP Dynamical Seasonal Forecast System 2000," informs the meteorological community about the recent update in the seasonal forecasting system at NCEP. An abstract is available on the AMS web site. Follow the “Print Version” link to see an Acrobat PDF file of the entire paper.