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2002 NWS Communications Theme Introduced at AMS Annual Meeting
NWS Director Jack Kelly hosted a kickoff ceremony for the
2002 communications theme for NWS at the Annual Meeting
of the American Meteorology Society (AMS), held in Orlando,
FL, January 13-17, 2002. Using a consistent communication
theme throughout the year in our internal and external communications
will help unify employee, media, legislative, and outreach
activities. The theme chosen for 2002 is Working Together
to Save Lives.
"With public safety as a national priority, the theme is
timely," said John Jones, NWS Deputy Director. "Working
Together to Save Lives supports the public private
partnership and can be worked from both homeland security
and natural disaster perspectives. The theme also fits with
the messages and talking points that support the NWS budget
priorities: maintaining our current services, replacing
critical observing systems, infusing new technology into
our systems, and enhancing our services to the public,"
said Jones.
The theme was prominently featured on buttons and matching
ribbons (click here to see what
they looked like) given out at the AMS Meeting, whose
attendees included more than 2,000 of the world's leading
meteorologists, hydrologists, earth and atmospheric scientists,
researchers, and educators. The buttons were given to NWS
employees to wear and the ribbons were given to NWS partners
to wear attached to their AMS name badges. The badges and
ribbons were distributed at the NOAA exhibit booth. Vice
Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., newly appointed NOAA
Administrator, visited the booth on Wednesday, January 16,
2002, after making a presentation in the AMS President's
Plenary Session.
All employees are urged to promote this theme throughout
the year in office, regional, and local communication activities
(such as web sites, handouts, and fact sheets). "I continuously
state we are only as strong as the sum of our parts, said
Jack Kelly. "This theme will remind us throughout the year
that we serve our customers and partners best when we work
together."
Follow this link to see pictures
of NWS in action at the AMS Annual Meeting.
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Share Your Ideas with River Forecast Center Operations Team
A team looking at the hydrologic service program roles
and responsibilities for Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs)
and River Forecast Centers (RFCs) is seeking input from
NWS employees. The RFC Operations Team was chartered by
the NWS Corporate Board to propose an operational structure
for RFCs to help them best meet NWS customer needs.
"This effort has the potential to reshape the way the NWS
develops and delivers hydrologic products and services,"
said Team Leader Rob Hartman, Hydrologist in Charge of the
California-Nevada River Forecast Center. Hartman said employees
have an opportunity to share their experiences, observations,
views, and ideas, now through mid February.
The RFC team has set up a web site http://207.173.99.100/cnrfc/rfc_ops
with background on this effort and some preliminary findings.
The team is asking NWS employees who work or recently worked
operations in a WFO or RFC to complete a short web-based
survey of multiple choice questions and text entry. Hartman
said the survey should only take a few minutes to complete.
"We simply can't do a thorough job without good input from
employees," Hartman said. He added that all survey responses
are provided anonymously and the activity has been coordinated
with the NWSEO. The team is collecting survey responses
through February 15, 2002.
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Throughout the year, NOAA's NWS Focus
will publish stories that illustrate how we are working
together with each other, our partners, and customers to
save lives. Following is the first in this series:
A little known treasure in NOAA affects billions of dollars
of construction each year in the U.S. economy and leads
to safer and more economical designs. The experts of NWS's
Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center (HDSC), located
at NWS Headquarters, prepare national standards for rainfall
frequency and probable maximum precipitation. Both are used
for a multitude of planning and design purposes, from reservoirs
to local storm water drainage.
The work of the Center is paid for by partner agencies
who use the standards in their regulations. Civil engineers
and public officials use HDSC information to account for
different levels of rainfall in their designs and plans.
Standards from this small center are cited by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and by State departments of
transportation in their regulations and by many other Federal
and State agencies as well. These standards also are the
basis of drainage design manuals for local governments across
the country. Ultimately, this work helps communities save
lives and property through better preparation for rainfall
extremes as well as make more effective use of tax payer
funds.
HDSC is part of the Office of Hydrologic Development's
Hydrology Lab, Hydrologic Data Systems Branch, managed by
Geoff Bonnin. "We typically handle between half a dozen
to a dozen inquiries each week primarily from civil engineering
consultants," Bonnin said.
To learn more about HDSC, visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hdsc/.
Have an example that illustrates how we work
together to save lives? Send it to NWS.Focus@NWS.gov.
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TV Game Show to Feature a Lightning Category in Upcoming Segment
In a show scheduled to air on January 22, 2002, Jeopardy
will have a lightning category thanks to the information
provided by the NWS. Last February, in preparation for the
2001 Lightning Awareness Week, WCM John Jensenius contacted
Jeopardy to see if they were interested in including
a category on Lightning or Lightning Safety on the show.
Although it was too late to be included in a show for the
2001 Lightning Safety Awareness Week, Jeopardy
did say that they would consider the category for a future
show. Jeopardy contacted Jensenius this week to
let him know that they did use to information provided by
the NWS and will have a "lightning" category on the show
that airs on January 22.
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