Questions and Answers from the NWS Director's
September 1, 2004, Town Hall Meeting/Webcast

Question: We've been seeing a lot of information on NOAA Weather Radio-just where do we stand? Are we giving control to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)?

Answer: We've been doing NOAA Weather Radio for a long time, and we've got over 910 transmitters that cover 97 percent of America, Johnson said.

"No, we are not giving control to the DHS. We proposed some names to the Admiral for a larger network. And yes, DHS gave us about $5.5 million to enable the President to pick up the phone and talk to America through NOAA Weather Radio. That does not make it a DHS system. That makes it a wonderful partnership between two agencies in the government that are doing smart things. We envision cooperation in the future, maybe schools getting the receivers and maybe a concerted effort to get more people on the program. We want NOAA Weather Radio to truly be the all-hazards network just as we broadcast weather reports now."

Question: We've heard about a future study to do something with Incident Meteorologists-is there a problem?

Answer: "I know we send IMETS out for fires, but should they be part of the team if a train derails and the reason it derails is because the track is in water? We have the capability to do that. What would it take in terms of resources to do that. This could be a great opportunity for an agency that has responsibility for environmental information. We could be an integrated part of the team.

"We're going to have some smart folks look at that and see if IMETS should just do fire weather or truly be incident-, or whatever, meteorologists. If we can provide value by being on the scene and part of the responders is that something that we could do-and more important, could do or should do? So we are starting to think this through a bit."

Question: What is happening with the talks on the HMT future staffing?

Answer: "Right now, we have some industrial strength HMT members on the team. It is unclear to me whether we are using their skills and ability to maximum benefit. We are looking at ways that we can intelligently apply their skills and abilities to the task that the team has. Stay tuned for news."

Question: What was the greatest surprise for you about the NWS organization during your first 7 months here?

Answer: "I guess I didn't fully appreciate the political nature of the Hill and the political interaction."

Question: Could you address a rumor about a possible reorganization at NWS field offices?

Answer: "I believe that 122 weather forecast offices are an extremely valuable contribution that the Weather Service makes to NOAA. When we meet on the Hill, we start by talking about our services. We take over a little packet of materials and say, 'Hi Senator, before we talk about what you want to talk about, let me kind of refresh you about our services. Here is the next radar that services your district. Here are the NOAA Weather Radio transmitters and the overlapping coverage that cover your people. Here are the cooperative weather observers, patriotic Americans helping us do the job.'"

"One hundred twenty-two Weather Forecast Offices provide a wonderful retail outlet for environmental information. We do weather, water and climate and we're going to be doing a little space physics. And I'm thinking if NOAA is an ecosystems-based agency, and does things on the wet side, from management perspective maybe WFO's should become environmental information outlets for NOAA."

Johnson said he sees any potential change as "a rebalancing of skill and abilities of our people. I don't want meteorologists to be full fledged card carrying space physicists but I do want them to be able to know where the web site is."

"We are looking at smart ways to use the resources that we have. I'd be falling short on my responsibility to you and to America if we didn't."

Question: What is the status of the proposed policy for public private partnerships?

Answer: "We had 1,400 plus responses to the Fair Weather report. We are now in the process of characterizing if respondents liked the proposed policy or did not like it, why not, should we amend it, those kind of things. That's in progress. It takes a long time to go through 1,400 of anything. I'll share with you that the preponderance of the responses were favorable with relation to the new proposed policy."

Question: We hear a lot about climate, weather, and water. What are we doing in climate?

Answer: "In all the regions, people are doing a good job down-scaling climate projects to the state level. Also, last week, we started running operationally the first global atmosphere, ocean-coupled climate forecast system in the world. That's a big deal. That's a very big deal. I expect it won't be absolutely perfect but I think that running it gives us an opportunity to continue to perfect it over time. We are in fact responsible for climate, weather, and water and climate is one of those hot topics along with the wet side right now."

Question: What's being done to improve gaining field input for requirements for programming? (One suggestion the caller made was encouraging the publishing of Corporate Board minutes.)

Answer: "That's one approach. Your Regional Director is a full-fledged member of the Corporate Board and comes in with things that need to be done, things we need to address. If somebody does not think that they have an opportunity for input to the system, we need to re-energize that because my belief is there is ample opportunity to input the system. However, we may not have enough money to do everything that you think needs to be done, at the time frame that you want to do it. And we need to think about smarter, better, quicker, faster, cheaper ways to accomplish requirements."

Question: Will there be any offers of early outs to Data Acquisition Program Managers (DAPMs)?

Answer: We are looking at the DAPMs, the smartest way to allow their talents to contribute to the team, and how to get more meteorologists interns into the pipeline. More to come on that also.

Editors' Note: Several additional questions did not get answered during the Town Hall/Webcast due to time constraints. Watch for answers to those questions in a future issue of NOAA's NWS Focus.

Back to the 09/08/2004 NOAA's NWS Focus

[Questions and Answers Part 2, Posted September 20, 2004]

Question: Can you discuss the benefits of the new digital services to the Nation?

Answer: Our digital services effort will help us continue to meet our customers' and partners' needs in the information age, where improved data, forecasts, and warnings are only of value if we are getting the information to people when and where they require it. We've received very good feedback from users, and more than 400 users are downloading the experimental grids.

I know we still have concerns with the process, and I'm aware of the workload associated with developing the grids out to seven days. We are working to get more gridded guidance to the field for the longer time periods. Most forecaster effort should be focused on the short-term forecasts and problem of the day.

Question: Can you discuss the importance of short-term forecasts and warnings (0-12 hours) and the critical role these play in the budget process and in supporting our customers via our GPRA performance measures?

Answer: Short-term forecasts and warnings are our bread and butter. Well, at least they're a big part of our bread. I can't emphasize enough the importance of maintaining situational awareness of current weather. We have to continue training to enhance our skills in warning decision making, and the new Advanced Warning Operations Course (AWOC) starting in October will help us accomplish these goals. Our managers need to ensure that all field forecasters with forecast and warning responsibility have the opportunity to complete this course during FY 05.

Question: Please describe the internal process by which the annual NWS performance goals (e.g., tornado warning lead time) are reviewed, updated, and approved.

Answer: This topic is one of my priorities, and we are looking at the existing process for setting these annual performance goals to make sure our goals are meaningful, are within our span of control, and are achievable. We need to put more thinking into how much better we can get in all areas, and consider the relative costs and benefits for each of these goals, then use those determinations to set our budget priorities.

Question: What type of technological advances do you see on the NWS' doorstep? We saw the introduction of AWIPS over eight years ago and are now moving into new service and customer arenas. What additional technology changes are in the NWS' future?

Answer: As DUS Jack Kelly once said, the modernization was a 'revolution' and today we are involved in an 'evolution.' While there are notable new technologies on the horizon such as GOES-R, much of what the NWS will see in new technology involves incremental improvements to our existing set of tools. Planned technical improvements for WSR-88D performance is one example. Two new sensors are planned for ASOS. We will see improvements to our primary forecast models. The challenge we face is to use these improvements collectively and in an interdisciplinary manner to provide better products and a wider range of environmental services.

Question: Continuity of Operations (COOP) remains a hot topic. We have a COOP plan in place. Are there any new or external funding sources available (such as through DHS initiatives) to support all the activities identified in the NWS COOP?

Answer: Continuity of Operations Plan requirements are derived from Federal Preparedness Circulars and direct that each agency of the Executive Branch develop and implement a COOP. NOAA has developed and will continue to update our COOPs in accordance with these Federal requirements. We do not anticipate any new funding sources for these efforts.

Question: Is anything being planned to modernize the architecture, content, and maintenance of the entire NWS web presence?

Answer: It's important that we communicate clearly and consistently with as wide an audience as possible, whether that is through the Internet or any of our delivery mediums. I'm less concerned with how technologically up-to-date our web pages are than I am with how accurate and current our information is, how many people are seeing our products, and how clearly we are communicating.

A "Next Generation Web Architecture" unfunded request was reviewed by the FIRC and received some funding in FY 04. Additional funding was provided by OCIO. A kickoff implementation planning meeting is planned for October. This request is focused on architecture, load balancing, and content mirroring more than on web content.

Question: NOAA put a new strategic plan out for comments and you asked us for input on the mission, vision, and core values in the NWS Strategic Plan. Where is all this going?

Answer: There is a significant push to coordinate programs better across NOAA embodied in things such as the NOAA Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System (PPBES) and lots of attention to research within NOAA to make it more responsive to national needs. NWS is a strong part of "one NOAA." We are the folks that execute the mission. This focus on "one NOAA" also plays out in NOAA's strategic plans. The NOAA plan was developed with participation of all NOAA Line Offices and with input from all NOAA stakeholders. Ultimately the draft NOAA Plan was made available for public comment. Line Office plans will follow, and be consistent with, the NOAA plan. Our NWS Strategic Plan is scheduled to be final in mid-December. We are working on a draft now. Thanks to all who sent in responses on our mission, vision, and core values.