Our article last week on the new improved Owlie Skywarn didn't note that during the lean years, folks in the field kept Owlie alive on the web. For example, Meteorologist-In-Charge Ken Rizzo at the Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI, Weather Forecast Office, says that through the efforts of Cris Garcia and Steve Davis, Owlie was color enhanced and made available to school teachers on the WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan web site. Hats off to Cris, Steve, and Ken, and all others who kept Owlie out of retirement!

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Prompt action by an Illinois manufacturing plant following a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio (NWR) tornado warning kept as many as 140 plant workers safe in the face of an F4 tornado that struck July 13, 2004, in Roanoke, IL.

According to Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chris Miller of the Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Lincoln, IL, the Parsons Manufacturing Plant dispatched employee spotters based on NWR receipt of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning 12 minutes prior to the tornado. Plant management told Miller the employees were just starting to go to their designated shelters when the Tornado Warning was received - seven minutes prior to the tornado.

Employees said the first sign of the tornado's arrival at the plant was cars being blown from the parking lot into the side of the building. Steel beams weighing up to a ton were pulled into the vortex like match sticks, according to some employees' accounts. When the tornado passed, many employees' cars were found piled into the collapsed building.

The plant's Emergency Response Team Coordinator told Miller that the main office routinely monitors NWR broadcasts. Any time a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warning is received, the plant implements its severe weather plan and activates company spotters. The spotters' role is to alert employees if they see any hazardous weather in the vicinity of the plant, and direct employees over the company public address system to head to the designated storm shelter in their section. Miller said the company has a strong safety plan, holds monthly meetings, and conducts tornado drills at least twice a year. Their last drill was April 2004.

"Looking at the pictures of the nearly demolished plant, a person wouldn't think it possible that more than 120 employees got through that storm with no injuries," said Mike Looney, NWS Central Region Headquarters Services Division Chief. "Those people were able to escape injury from a very devastating tornado because plant management created a severe weather action plan and conducted drills to familiarize employees with correct actions to keep everyone safe."

The company owner established a severe weather plan nearly 30 years ago when he started the business.

"He told me that he was always afraid of a storm affecting his business, because he witnessed a tornado first hand. He said he wanted to make sure that his employees were kept safe just in case a tornado were to strike," Miller said.

"The shelters (at Parsons) were concrete and steel, reinforced structures. The foresight of Bob Parsons and the company's safety plan, and the fact that they practiced drills, is what helped save these people's lives," Miller told a local newspaper.

An NWS Quick Response Team and WFO Central Illinois personnel, along with Woodford (IL) County emergency management staff, conducted damage surveys on July 14-15, 2004. The surveyors measured the path length of the tornado at 9.6 miles. The average path width was 400 yards although it was nearly a quarter-mile wide at one point, and the tornado was on the ground for 23 minutes.

Steel beams and metal siding from the plant were found approximately 3/4 mile east in a farm field.

From the plant, the tornado continued east and hit four farmsteads approximately 1/2 to 1 mile east of the plant. Two of the farmsteads closest to the plant (about 1/2 to 3/4 mile east) had the two-story houses completely blown away...with only debris remaining in the basements and nearby property. The other two farmsteads had significant damage to the two-story houses, with outbuildings demolished. The center of the tornado tracked about 100 yards south of the houses located on the south side of the road.

The Central Illinois web page has additional information about the tornado, including a storm summary, warning times, pictures of the damage, radar imagery, and more.

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Storm Prediction Center Includes Marine Zones in Convective Watch Products

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is now including marine zones explicitly in their convective watch products.

A key component of the Watch-by-County transition within the NWS, the counties and marine zones included in the watches are finalized during a collaborative conference call between the SPC and impacted forecast offices. Prior to this change, only a general description of the marine areas affected in the watch was provided in official NWS watch products.

The marine zones within a new convective watch are detailed in the SPC-issued Watch Outline Update message and will also be explicitly described in follow-up Watch Status Messages issued by the SPC.

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Minnesota Twins Game Features Torii Hunter Lightning Safety Poster Giveaway

Todd Heitkamp (right) Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Sioux Falls, SD, Weather Forecast Office, presents an NWS award to Minnesota Twins baseball player Torii Hunter in pre-game ceremonies in gratitude for Hunter's role in this year's Lightning Safety Awareness Week activities.

During pre-game ceremonies at a Minnesota Twins baseball game on July 11, 2004, Todd Heitkamp presented an NWS award to this year's Lightning Safety Awareness sports celebrity, Twins player Torii Hunter. Heitkamp, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Sioux Falls, SD, Weather Forecast Office, presented the award to Hunter in front of the crowd at the ballpark. Heitkamp said Hunter was "excited and proud" to help with the lightning safety efforts because he had a close call with lightning when he was younger. The award was signed by Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.), NWS Director, who also is a Twins fan. "Torii also mentioned how much he appreciated our line of work and how difficult it must be to forecast the weather," Heitkamp added. "He compared it to trying to hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball."

During the presentation, the public address announcer read a script which mentioned the partnership between the NWS and the Minnesota Twins, lightning safety, and the NWS's gratitude to Hunter and the Twins in helping with this safety effort.

As part of this special day, the first 4,000 kids through the gates received a Torii Hunter Lightning Safety Poster. Heitkamp said Hunter also took time to sign the posters for kids before the game.

Before the ceremony Heitkamp also presented an NWS award to the Twins Front Office for their work on the poster. The Twins Community Relations Office helped Heitkamp get Hunter to participate in Lightning Awareness Week. The Twins have also invited Heitkamp to come back and throw out the first pitch at an upcoming game.

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Media Outreach Effort Discovers NDFD Is A Hit For Missouri Television Station

During recent annual media outreach efforts, Meteorologist Doug Cramer of the Springfield, MO, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) visited two Columbia, MO, television stations in June to listen to station management and on-air meteorologists, answer questions and provide updates on NWS activities.

"Since Columbia is bounded by three WFOs, the stations, KOMU-TV and KMIZ-TV, expressed concerns about weather element conformity and consistency between WFO Springfield, WFO Pleasant Hill, MO, and WFO St. Louis, MO," Cramer said. He added that both stations said they have seen marked improvements, but more is needed.

One station broadcasts NWS National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) loops of weather elements for their viewers. KMIZ-TV uses NDFD graphics on a continuous local TV broadcast that airs on several local cable stations in central Missouri. If NWS forecast grids contrast too much the station uses model data for the broadcast. According to the KMIZ staff, they were the first TV station in the Nation to do this, and now several other stations are also doing it. These station broadcasts also include their local radar information.

Of the many areas covered during the visits, the highlight of both visits was severe weather operations, warnings, the importance of near real-time local storm reports, frequent and updated forecast discussions with the emphasis on the meso-scale, media and public safety official conference calls 12 to 24 hours prior to major outbreaks, keeping open communications with NWS offices when the on-air meteorologist have concerns and questions, and upcoming changes to watch by county products and VTEC coding.

Cramer said the primary concern at both stations was probably the amount of severe thunderstorms warnings the WFOs generate. A discussion took place about the criteria for severe thunderstorms.

"The on-air meteorologist felt our severe warning thresholds are too low, especially with hail size," said Cramer. "They've had several e-mails and verbal complaints from their viewers criticizing the number of warnings being issued for what viewers felt were marginal storms."

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Geoffrey DiMego: Improving Weather Models to Assist Forecasters and Serve the Public

By Jessica Harper
NWS Communications Office/Public Affairs Intern

Meteorologist Tom Black steps over, not on, eggshells at the office. Because his supervisor spews support rather than fire, Black's work-day is comfortable without being boring; eventful minus the added stress of a difficult boss. "I'm lucky to have a manager who makes working for him enjoyable," Black said.

The manager in question is Geoffrey J. DiMego, Chief of the Mesoscale Modeling Branch of the Environmental Modeling Center at the National Centers of Environmental Prediction (NCEP). For nearly three decades, he has vigorously aided the work of forecasters across the U.S. by providing them with models necessary for accurate weather predictions.

"I do my best to provide my service to people and to get them the information they need as fast and as reliably as I can," DiMego noted.

Recently presented a NOAA 2004 Administrator's Award for leading a team responsible for directing the development and implementation of the NCEP Eta Model and 3D-Var assimilation system-a numerical model that uses grids to calculate the behavior of the earth's atmosphere-DiMego always strives to perfect and has devoted his career to improving regional weather models for the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS).

"At some point, every weather forecaster depends on the Eta model," DiMego said. "It's the workhorse model of the Weather Service."

Because the public so heavily relies on the information their local weather forecast services provide, DiMego makes reliability a main priority. "Reliability is important," DiMego said. "We prepare descriptions for forecasters, instructing them on what they should be looking for." This goal eventually translates into something that everyday people look for when planning outdoor activities.

A staunch believer in providing great service, DiMego brings a philosophy of generosity and sharing into the workplace daily. He is ever-willing to listen and interact with operational forecasters.

DiMego has also given briefings and model training seminars over the past years at which he carefully explains how recent technical improvements affect the forecaster's capability to work with newer models.

Unsurprisingly, he is a popular speaker at NWS regional science workshops. DiMego is eager to help forecasters in the field identity problems with certain models-like poor resolution, faulty physics, and outdated numerical grid techniques-and find ways to correct them.

NCEP Director Louis W. Uccellini, who has known DiMego since the mid-1970s, praises his workmanship. "People follow him because he is able to see the big picture," Uccellini said.

Steve Lord, Director of the Environmental Modeling Center concurs with Uccellini's assessment. "He communicates well and is good at getting people involved," Lord said. "He has good ideas and listens, digests and spits back information in a very organized way."

Modestly, DiMego refuses to take full credit for the amazing and necessary support he provides weather forecasters. He attributes a good part of his success to the efforts of his team at NCEP and from the private sector. Approximately thirty members strong-including two visiting scientists from Belgrade; employees from the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research (UCAR); and twenty contractors-a crew of dedicated employees assist DiMego in providing outstanding operational support to the NWS Forecast Offices.

"I'm not doing any of this alone," he noted. "I've got some of the best people working on models here. They construct data systems to make them run reliably and ultimately produce a solid level of performance."

Although many people contribute to the final product, DiMego's expertise in the area of model and data assimilation greatly contributes to the workability of these systems.

"Geoff has the science basis and operational skill to produce effective models," Uccellini noted. "He is determined yet honest about what can and cannot be done, an important quality for sustaining the credibility of operational weather models."

As his time at NCEP reaches the 30-year mark, DiMego remains enthusiastic about upcoming changes. He expects Weather Research Forecasting (WRF)-an improved, next generation mesoscale forecast model and assimilation system that will bridge communication gaps between research and operational forecasting communities and expand the Eta model's weather prediction capabilities by heightening grid accuracy-to replace the Eta model in coming years.

Rather than shun these exciting new challenges, DiMego welcomes them. He sees the model upgrades not as annoyances but as opportunities that will help him better serve the public. "I pride myself on service," he said.

Tom Black, who has known DiMego for 20 years, notices his colleague's allegiance to service and counts himself privileged to work for such a generous employer. "Geoff is an amiable person and is extremely easy-going," Black noted. "Recently, Geoff asked me to come to his office to talk about some WRF-related issues. After the discussion, we somehow ended with a brief consideration of the joys and frustrations of golf and the pleasures of Italian wines. Incidents like that one or the occasions when he says that a particularly stubborn problem should be resolved over a beer are typical of Geoff's friendly manner and of the way he interacts so positively with those around him."

DiMego is respected among his colleagues for his ability to find the balance between knowledge and gentleness. He is diligent without being condescending and is able to relax amidst a hectic work schedule.

DiMego's past-times aid in this relaxation. Aside from his extensive Vinyl records stash, he is also a collector and lover of video games. As the owner of well-over 1,000 discs, he is able to translate scientific expertise into unadulterated fun and proves that dedication to one's career can reach well beyond office doors.

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