
Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding are possible across the central U.S. through Saturday. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes are all possible. There is an increased threat for wildfire development in the southern to central High Plains. A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain are forecast across portions of the northern Plains and central New England into early Friday morning. Read More >

Dr. Stephan Smith
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI)
Dr. Stephan Smith is Director of the Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI) and is responsible for: the Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL), the Operations Proving Ground (OPG), the NWS Modeling Program, and the NOAA Virtual Laboratory. OSTI also oversees NWS’ efforts into the development and application of Artificial Intelligence to improving NWS mission operations. OSTI collaborates with the other NWS portfolio offices to maintain and enhance a centralized research, development, and testing environment. In addition to overseeing these efforts within the NWS, OSTI holds a critical role in coordinating NWS Research-to-Operations-to-Research (R2O2R) efforts across the NOAA line offices, particularly with the NOAA Science Council and NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
Steve earned both his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Meteorology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He received his B.S. in Mathematics and Physical Sciences from the University of Maryland. Before joining NWS, Steve was a Research Associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) in Fort Collins, CO.