WFO Operations Philosophy Reaffirms WFOs as Local Experts and Decision-Makers

Improved services and flexibility to optimize resources are two potential benefits of a new WFO Operations Philosophy recently adopted by the Corporate Board. To read the philosophy, click here.

"Through this philosophy we set the framework for the WFO of the future and reaffirm the primary role of the WFO as the local expert, decision-maker, and decision source for hazardous and high-impact events," said John Jones, NWS Deputy Director.

"The operations philosophy extends what we have learned about team-based operations within the WFO during the past decade to NWS-wide field operations for the coming decade," he said. "The philosophy is a mind set, a way of doing business. It is not a procedure, instruction or mandate. We are telling our WFO teams, that your office and your decisions produce everyone’s forecasts."

The philosophy supports WFO operations that are less encumbered by routine duties during high-impact events. "We want to reaffirm with our WFO teams that they have the power to flex their workload and resources as events dictate," said Greg Mandt, Office of Climate, Weather, and Water Services Director and chair of the Corporate Board Operations Committee that drafted the WFO operations philosophy. "In the IFPS [Interactive Forecast Processing System] era, there are times when it is okay to redistribute routine tasks elsewhere."

"For some WFOs, the philosophy supports how they already are doing some of their work," said Dennis McCarthy, Central Region Director and Corporate Board Operations Committee member. "We encourage the WFO teams to find even more ways to collaborate on forecasts, resources, and expertise."

In developing the philosophy, the Operations Committee considered historical perspectives on forecast office operations, IFPS implementation and IFPS-based operations, and input received from employees on the WFO of the future. The Operations Committee also held a field expert meeting in May 2003 at the NWS Training Center and Central Region Headquarters, where Central Region, Western Region, and NCEP senior staff provided input. More field expert input was gathered at the Western Region Science and Operations Officer Conference and IFPS Science Team Meeting on May 6-8, 2003, in Salt Lake City, UT.

"We need trust at all levels, and over all domains for our WFOs to feel empowered to live this philosophy," said Mandt. He noted other challenges including resolving science and technology issues related to IFPS/NDFD implementation and getting more effective tools in place to support the collaborative process.

AHPS Products and Information Team Looks Into the Future

The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) Products and Information Team (APIT) recently published their vision of AHPS graphical products into the future. The publication, "A Core Suite of AHPS Graphical Hydrologic Products and Information," is posted on the AHPS Information Toolbox web site. The team, chartered by Greg Mandt, Office of Climate, Weather, and Water Services Director, addressed the need for an integrated, consistent approach to providing graphical hydrologic information. This core suite recommended by the team supports the full spectrum of NWS hydrologic services from flash floods through extended-range river forecasts. The team was established to ensure the content and format of NWS hydrologic services were consistent and there would be easy access to the information on the Web.

"The AHPS Products and Information Team recommended seven areas where consistent graphical hydrologic products should be developed and deployed," said Team Leader Gregg Rishel, Hydrologist-In-Charge, Northeast River Forecast Center. "It is our hope that this core suite of AHPS products will result in improved services to NWS customers." The team used significant customer input in formulating the report's recommendations. The recommendations encompass a wide range of information and provided the basis for a consistent core suite of NWS hydrologic products. The team envisions this core suite evolving over time based on new technology, infusion of scientific developments, and, especially, continued customer feedback.

Go to www.nws.noaa.gov/om/water/apit-news.shtml to read the rest of the story behind the report, then click on "A Core Suite of AHPS Graphical Hydrologic Products and Information" in the text to review the report.

During Hurricane Isabel, a cross-cutting NOAA team produced forecast flood inundation maps, in 6-hour intervals out to 3 days for 73 miles of the Tar River, NC. The team also produced peak inundation maps for the 7-day forecast period. The maps were made available on the NWS Southeast River Forecast Center's (SERFC) web site at the bottom of the page under Inundation Mapping (Experimental Products).

Based on rainfall estimates from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction weather models, the SERFC produced inundation maps indicating the potential for minor flooding along lower reaches of the river, near Tarboro and Greenville, NC. Representatives from the Floodplain Mapping Program and several emergency managers indicated these experimental flood forecast maps were useful.

North Carolina, as a Cooperating Technical State within the National Flood Insurance Program, has been updating flood insurance studies by using newly collected Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR)-derived elevation data and field-collected river channel geometry data. The NOAA team applied the NWS dynamic water routing model and this partnered geospatial data to predict water surface elevations on the Tar River main stem.

The Tar River flood mapping is part of a larger collaborative effort with the State of North Carolina's Floodplain Mapping Program, according to Doug Marcy, Hydrologic Services Division, Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services (OCWWS).

Over the past year, a partnership consisting of the National Ocean Service Coastal Services Center, and several NWS groups (SERFC; Weather Forecast Offices in Raleigh and Morehead City; OCWWS; and, Office of Hydrologic Development) have developed this prototype flood forecast mapping system for the Tar River basin. A primary Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service goal is to deliver a flood forecast mapping capability for numerous sites throughout the Nation.

The NWS recently awarded a contract to Riverside Technology, Inc. (RTi), of Fort Collins, CO, to support the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) and improve NOAA's capability to respond to the Nation's growing need for water resource forecasts and information. RTi develops and implements operational streamflow forecasting and reservoir operations modeling systems.

The contract, valued at $80 million, includes a five-year $40 million base, plus five additional one-year award term incentive options valued at $8 million each.

According to John Ingram, AHPS Program Manager, NWS Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD) and Contract Officer Technical Representative for the RTi contract, RTi will provide the necessary labor and materials (as needed) to accomplish tasks in the following general areas of work:

• Develop new scientific methods to advance NWS's river, flood, and drought forecasting capabilities;
• Infuse new scientific methods into existing NWS forecasting processes;
• Perform data analysis and data management for operational forecasting services;
• Implement and evaluate River Forecast Center and Weather Forecast Office forecasting procedures;
• Perform software engineering and technical support to integrate, implement, and operate new scientific methods;
• Provide project management, quality control, and logistic support to ensure the correct delivery of useful forecast information; and
• Provide program management for contract activities.

American Samoa Weather Service Office Dedicated and NOAA Weather Radio MOA Signed

Pacific Region Director Jeff LaDouce joined leading American Samoan officials recently to dedicate the new Pago Pago National Weather Service Office (WSO). The new building, with reinforced concrete walls and one piece roof deck, hurricane shutters on the doors and windows, and a covered backup generator, is constructed to withstand 180 mile-per-hour winds. (see photos)

WSO Pago Pago is responsible for public service, coastal marine, tropical cyclone, climate, data acquisition, and facilities and electronics maintenance programs. Operating around the clock, the office issues public weather forecasts and warnings and high surf in English and Samoan, and coastal and offshore forecasts out to 100 nautical miles.

"This facility represents a promise kept, and an important investment for the future safety of American Samoa's residents and the protection of their property during severe weather," said LaDouce.

Ed Young, Pacific Region Technical Services Chief, explained. "In conversations with Congressman Eni Faleomavaega following Hurricanes Ofa and Val which left extensive damage in the territory, Dick Hagemeyer, former director of the NWS Pacific Region, promised to upgrade weather services and capabilities for the people of American Samoa. Thanks to congressional support, NOAA and NWS leadership, design efforts of John Porter and others in the NWS HQ Facilities Maintenance Branch, and the Pacific Region Facilities staff, the building was completed earlier this year. This fulfills a significant part of the promise."

Additional steps are being taken to improve weather services in the Territory. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by Governor Togiola Tulafono and LaDouce to establish a NOAA Weather Radio system in American Samoa. Under the terms of the MOA, the Government of American Samoa (ASG) through the Territorial Office of Homeland Security, will pay for the equipment, infrastructure, and installation. The NWS will operate and maintain the transmitter and work with the ASG to establish an emergency alert system. Once in place, the system will fulfill a Homeland Security requirement for the ASG to install an all-hazards early warning broadcast system for its citizens.

The new weather service office, one of nine upper air stations in the Pacific, also launches weather balloons twice a day simultaneously with others around the globe to support real time data requirements for operational forecasting and for studying and evaluating climate change in the Pacific. Under the leadership of Officer-In-Charge Leloyd Acosta, in September 2003, the station ranked No. 2 nationally for overall performance.

The dedication kicked off Disaster Awareness Week in American Samoa, a week of public activities designed to promote disaster readiness. Read more details and view more photos at http://www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/hq/html/american_samoa.html.

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A Tribute to Art Bedient: 'A True Pioneer' in Meteorology

A pioneer in the field of meteorology is no longer with us. Harold (Art) Bedient, Jr., 84, affectionately known by many as the "Father of Weather Automation," died on November 3, 2003, after suffering many years of Alzheimer's disease.

"Art's contribution to NOAA and the field of meteorology was extraordinary," said John Jones, Deputy Director of the National Weather Service. "He was regarded as a world authority in the application of computers to meteorology and communication, and worked with NOAA to bring together science and technology to establish numerical weather prediction."

When Bedient retired from National Meteorological Center (now known as NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction) in 1983, his expertise and leadership had taken him to major weather centers worldwide. Bedient received the Department of Commerce Gold and Silver Medals, and a special American Meteorological Society award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Applied Meteorology." His pioneering work in projecting meteorological data onto maps was formally recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Standards in the definition of a map unit of length. A "bedient" is a standard unit of measure relating distance on a map to a distance on the earth.

During his tenure in the Air Force, Bedient was selected for the prestigious assignment of representing the Air Force as a member of a combined project to study the use of large-scale computers for weather analysis and forecasting applications. He was assigned to Suitland, MD, as part of the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit (JNWPU), a groundbreaking cooperative venture of the Air Force, Navy, and the U.S. Weather Bureau. Bedient made fundamental contributions to the success of JNWPU, leading to the development of the automated global weather analysis and forecasting system we know today.

"Art was a brilliant man," said Micki Farley, Project Manager at NCEP's Central Operations. "He was responsible for the beginning of computer-generated contoured weather maps while he served as Chief of the Computation Branch from 1957 to 1961 at the NMC."

"He was a Renaissance man, truly interested in all aspects of life," noted Ken Campana, Meteorologist at NCEP's Environmental Modeling Center. "He was a pilot in the Air Force, a sailor, and loved engineering. Perhaps most important to me, as a young meteorologist, was his dedication as a scientist in the early days of numerical weather prediction. He truly loved the computational/graphical aspects of weather forecasting."

Jim Hoke, Director of NCEP's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center has similar recollections. "Art Bedient is one of the reasons I came to work for NOAA. In the late 1970s, I had the opportunity to visit the NMC and it was a beehive of activity and progress in numerical weather prediction. I had the good fortune to meet with Art and sat spellbound as he recalled details from those early days. He enjoyed explaining the reasoning behind the development of the grid system, which ultimately became associated with his name, a 'Bedient' refers to the distance between grid points. After my visit with Art and others at the NMC, I knew this was the place where I wanted to spend my career."

Bedient's combined service to the U.S. Air Force and NOAA's National Weather Service totaled more than 41 years. He is survived by his wife Thelma, five children, four-step-children, 14 grandchildren, and one great-grand child.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Art's family and to everyone in NOAA who had the great pleasure of working with him over the years," said Jones. "We recognize his contributions, his compassion, and his kindness."

The Bedient family can be reached at: 30 Greenwood Road, Norway, ME, 04268.

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Professional Development: Summer Policy Colloquium

The American Meteorological Society is hosting a 10-day colloquium to help mid-level managers, doctoral students, and faculty in the atmospheric sciences learn more about the government policy process and how it benefits the atmospheric sciences.

The colloquium is scheduled for June 6-15, 2004, in Washington, DC. The program consists of high-level speakers from academia, government, and the corporate world; case studies; and participant exercises. Participants also visit Capitol Hill for sessions with congressional staff.

Registration information is available here.

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Also On the Web...Striking Lightning Damage Photos

For some interesting images of lightning damage, check out the photos taken recently by Forecaster Donovan Landreneau, of the Lake Charles, LA, Weather Forecast Office. Warning Coordination Meteorologist Roger Erickson of WFO Lake Charles reports that an isolated lightning bolt struck a flag pole around one mile from the WFO on October 25, 2003. Erickson said the damage that took place was unique, so Landreneau took some pictures and interviewed the local emergency manager and an eyewitness who was standing in the doorway when the lightning struck.

View the photos on the WFO Lake Charles web page at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/severe/lsuagltg.htm.

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