Weather Service Breaks Ground for Tri-State Doppler Radar

The NWS broke ground in Gibson County, IN, September 14, 2002, for a new Doppler radar to provide low-level coverage to residents of the tri-state area of southwest Indiana, southeast Illinois, and northwest Kentucky.

Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere Scott B. Gudes and NWS Director Jack Kelly represented the Department of Commerce in the gathering of local dignitaries, emergency managers, members of Congress, and the media for the event. About 70 participants and residents gathered at the radar site, located on the edge of a cornfield in rural Gibson County.

Keynote speaker, Indiana District 8 Rep. John Hostettler noted, "The National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are to be applauded for their diligence in working to meet the weather detection needs of the region."

Gudes said the tri-state radar highlights NOAA's commitment to on-going improvement of scientific data-gathering tools used to protect the American public. "Keeping up with the weather requires advanced technology to predict it," Gudes said. "With this new radar, we've demonstrated our resolve to do just that."

Kelly said the ground breaking represented "a very concrete step into the 21st century" and emphasized that forecasters at five weather forecast offices will use the radar data. "Doppler radar gives our forecasters more information to generate better forecast products," Kelly said.

NWS forecasters at Paducah and Louisville, KY; St. Louis, MO; Lincoln, IL; and Indianapolis, IN, will use data from the radar in their forecast and warning programs. Enterprise Electronics Corporation was awarded an $8.7 million fixed price contract to build and maintain the new radar for a 10-year period. The radar will be operational in January 2003.

Director's Dialog:
The Public-Private Partnership—Competition or Cooperation

There has been a great deal of rhetoric during the past several years about the relationship between the NWS and private weather agencies, specifically regarding the future role of the government and the private sector in providing weather services to the public and other specialized user groups.

The agricultural weather program has been transferred to the private sector, and part of the surface observation program is being transferred to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Rumors abound that other programs, such as fire and aviation weather, may also be divested by the NWS. Certainly, entities such as Accuweather want nearly all of the NWS functions to be transferred to the private sector.

So I have two questions here:
1) Where does the public-private partnership relationship stand at this time?
and,
2) Do you envision any current NWS programs being transferred outside the agency in the future?
—Jay Stockton, Senior Forecaster, WFO Medford, OR

We face the challenge of providing weather data and information to citizens, public officials, and private companies when and where they want it, in a form easily understood by all. The true spirit of the public-private partnership is about working together, and the United States has the best weather services in the world because we all work together well. I don’t expect any dramatic shift in the government’s role in providing weather information, but our services, and those of our partners, will continue to evolve. Changes like our move to the Interactive Forecast Preparation System (IFPS) and the national digital database should result in new market opportunities for businesses, without changing the fundamental roles of either the NWS or the private sector.

Too often the level of rhetoric regarding the public-private partnership has not been conducive to rational discourse. We need to recast the debate from “competition” to focus on defining appropriate roles which best serve the public interest. In 2001, NOAA commissioned the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on the appropriate roles of government, private and research sectors in the provision of weather services. The Academy was asked to identify opportunities and barriers – whether driven by science, technology, or organizational culture – to improving weather services through this partnership. A study panel comprised of respected experts from both inside and outside the meteorological community chaired by Dr. John Armstrong, former Senior Vice-President for Science and Technology at IBM, will release their findings and recommendations this December. To learn more about this study, check out http://www7.nationalacademies.org/besr-publicprivate.

The NWS today is different than it was in 1995 when legislative action redirected our approach to fire and agricultural weather services. Today’s policy focus is on government performance, and the NWS is widely regarded as one of the best performers in government. You mentioned the FAA carrying out certain responsibilities for surface observations, but this is all within the context of the ASOS program which we have shared with the FAA for decades. Finally, I’m not surprised to hear there are rumors about all kinds of changes in the NWS. I think if we all continue to focus on giving great value to the American taxpayers these rumors will take care of themselves.
—Jack Kelly, NWS Director

Have a question for the Director? Follow this link for guidelines for submitting a Director's Dialog question.

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Working Together to Save Lives:
Fast Action To Add River/Rain Gauge Helps With Flash Flood Warnings

With the approach of Tropical Storm Hanna toward the Southeast U.S. coast on September 13, 2002, staff at the Southeast River Forecast Center (SERFC) reviewed a list of new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) satellite gauges. The forecasters were looking for gauges which could be used to obtain real-time river and rainfall data to supplement existing ground-based gauges and help with making better flood forecasts.

"We found a gauge in the area where we expected heavy rain," said Brad Gimmestad, Development and Operations Hydrologist (DOH) at the SERFC.

Gimmestad and his coworkers contacted the Hydrological Automated Data System (HADS) team at NWS Headquarters to have the station defined into the system so the River Forecast Center would automatically receive the data during the event. HADS is a part of the NWS Office of Hydrologic Development.

"The HADS staff jumped on our request, even contacting the Georgia USGS office to resolve discrepancies, to get that gauge defined into the HADS system and decoding the satellite information correctly," Gimmestad said. With the gauge defined properly, he said data was flowing through NWS communication systems by the evening of September 13.

Hanna produced very heavy rains in Seminole County of Southwest Georgia and the new gauge reported over 11 inches of rain, with Spring Creek rising 12 feet in 24 hours. Although the larger rivers did not go into flood, disastrous flash flooding occurred in the county damaging many homes and businesses. An NWS cooperative observer living 5 miles from the new gauge reported 14.5 inches of rain. Gimmestad said the new gauge data allowed the Tallahassee, FL, Weather Forecast Office to monitor the rains in real time, providing ground truth to support Flash Flood Warnings. The gauge data also aided the SERFC in producing river forecasts during the passage of Hanna.

For more information on how HADS uses satellite data, go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hads/.

Health Care Costs Rising in 2003; Flexible Spending Accounts Option Coming in July

Premiums in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will increase by an average 11 percent in 2003, according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

OPM announced that in 2003, the average premium increase for fee-for-service plans is 10.5 percent, and for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO), the average increase is 13.6 percent. FEHB program enrollees with self-only coverage will pay approximately $4.45 more in premiums per pay period; those with family coverage will pay about $10.21 more per pay period. On average, the government pays 72 percent of FEHB premiums.

During the FEHB Program open season, which runs from November 11 through December 9, 2002, enrollees can select a new health plan or stay with their current carrier. Employees and retirees enrolled in the program can review the Open Season guide and health plan brochures at the FEHB Program web site.

OPM also announced a new program beginning in July 2003. Federal employees may begin to establish personal Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), which they can later tap to pay for the uncovered portions of qualified medical costs. FSAs also can pay dependent-care expenses. All employee contributions to FSAs are made from pre-tax earnings; there are no government contributions to the program. A Request for Proposal will be issued later this month for a third-party administrator of the program. Information about the FSA program will be updated, as it becomes available. By law, retirees, both federal and non-federal, are not eligible to maintain FSAs. Read the full OPM news release.

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NWS Employee Sets Sail and Sees How the Wet Half Lives

Bob Elvander, of NWS's Office of Science and Technology (OST), had no idea that his participation in this year's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) would lead to a 21-cannon salute.

Elvander, a staff meteorologist in OST's Systems Engineering Center, was chosen at random from among all NOAA CFC participants to take part in a week-long cruise aboard the NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN. The RH BROWN is the largest in the fleet of research ships operated by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.

A state-of-the-art oceanographic and atmospheric research platform, the RH BROWN travels worldwide supporting scientific studies to increase understanding of the world's oceans and climate. But Elvander's cruise took place August 6-11, 2002, which happened to be the week that the RH BROWN had the task of accompanying the barge towing the turret from the Civil War ironclad USS MONITOR into the Hampton Roads, VA, area. The MONITOR turret had just been recovered on August 5, which marked the end of a multi-year effort by NOAA, the Navy, and The Mariners' Museum to preserve key components of the revolutionary ship before sea water corroded the vessel beyond recognition.

The RH BROWN departed from Portsmouth, NH, on August 6, and traveled around the tip of Cape Cod, down east of the Cape past Nantucket Shoals, and then westward toward the Delaware Bay area. Elvander was familiar with the area, since he had grown up on Cape Cod, in Sandwich, MA.

"It was fun pointing out the points along the outer Cape that I visited many times in my youth, and on vacation with my family," he said.

The NOAA ship met up with the barge carrying the MONITOR turret on August 8, and then accompanied it into Hampton Roads and finally to the celebration at the main dock in Newport News.

"There was a 21 cannon salute as the two ships entered Hampton Roads, quite a sight!" said Elvander. The MONITOR turret was successfully delivered to The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA, where it will undergo a 10-year process to preserve it. For more details on the MONITOR recovery effort, see NOAA's news release. After safely delivering the MONITOR turret, the RH BROWN continued towards Charleston, SC, its final destination.

For Elvander, the cruise was enjoyable for several reasons.

"I felt nostalgia for my cruise on the USS CHAIN (from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) in 1962. There have been vast improvements in ship quarters and equipment since then," said Elvander. The trip also increased his appreciation for the good science being done by NOAA. And he said he was impressed with the receptiveness from the crew, the officers, and the science personnel.

"After all," he said with a smile, "I was just along for the ride!"

Survey Collecting Comments for Hydrologic Graphical Products

An NWS hydrologic services survey is collecting comments and suggestions from NWS staff on the types of hydrologic products and information the NWS should provide in a graphical format.

The NWS Office of Climate Water and Weather Services (OCWWS) chartered the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) Products and Information Team (APIT) to examine the agency's hydrologic services and recommend a consistent core suite of graphical hydrologic products and information which field offices across the country would provide. The core suite will support the full spectrum of hydrologic services from flash floods through extended-range river forecasts. AHPS is an initiative to modernize NWS hydrologic services and better serve our partners and customers through the infusion of science and technology.

"Our goal is to establish guidelines for providing consistent information in a form people will understand and use," said APIT Leader Gregg Rishel of NWS Western Region Headquarters.

APIT includes representatives from the NWS Regions, the Office of Hydrologic Development, the Office of Science and Technology, and OCWWS. Additional information on the APIT, including its charter, can be found on the Team's web site at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/ahpsteam/.

For more information, contact Rishel by e-mail, Gregg.Rishel@noaa.gov, or by phone at (801) 524-5137.

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Also On the Web...Volunteer Opportunities Website Consolidates Lists

The White House recently unveiled a website offering information about volunteer opportunities with Federal, state, and local government agencies.

The Department of the Interior operates the web site http://www.Volunteer.Gov/Gov, where Federal, state and local government agencies may post government-supported volunteer opportunities. People seeking opportunities to volunteer can search the website for opportunities listed by geographic location, type of work, or date of opportunity.

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