NWS Director Offers His Thoughts on Recent Letters to the Editor
by Jack Kelly, NWS Director

The letters in response to the Gary Allan Fine presentation article are thoughtful and thought provoking. This exchange of opinions supports our values to respect and trust each other, and encourage an open exchange of information and ideas. Our culture supports all employee views.

When the editors of NOAA's NWS Focus asked for your opinions, they expected the dialog to end there. However, I want to respond to the letter written by Bob Pifer of WFO Miami. In summary, he questions if there is a future need for a regional structure if NCEP handles longer range forecasts, and the WFOs deal in the shorter range forecasts.

One of the National Weather Service's greatest strengths is our local expertise, the familiarity our staffs have with their county warning and forecast areas, and the close working relationships we maintain with our partners and customers in local communities. With more than 4,800 employees spread out in offices covering many time zones, our agency requires a management structure with regional headquarters to support our local offices.

Yes, computers continue to get faster and more capable of performing complex functions, and our mid-range and long-term models are getting more accurate. But I do not see a correlation between how we forecast, and the need for regional support. Our six regional headquarters provide administrative and management support so our field employees can do what they do best, provide forecast and warning services, and represent the NWS in their communities. As a leader I need input from others to make informed decisions, and I rely on the directors to represent the views of our many field offices and national centers.

Another employee who responded to Dr. Fine's article, David Swallow of WFO Austin/San Antonio, reminds us that "the most valuable resource that the National Weather Service has is its employees." This exercise demonstrates to me that we need more two-way dialog between leaders, such as myself, and employees at all levels. To help fill this need, I will answer employee questions in a new NOAA's NWS Focus column called "Director's Dialog."

The Communications Office is always exploring new ways to expand our internal communication program. If you have ideas to share, send them to Randee.Exler@NOAA.gov.

"Director's Dialog" is a new feature in NOAA's NWS Focus where Director Jack Kelly will answer one employee question per column. The ground rules are as follows: all questions must be submitted to NWS.Focus@noaa.gov and include a sender's name and office. Questions should have organizational-wide implications. This column will not address personal questions relating to benefits, pay, supervision, or labor/management disputes. The Director will read all questions, but may not be able to answer all questions due to time and space constraints.

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Working Together to Save Lives:
Colorado RFC and Native American Tribe Improve Flood Forecasts Following Largest Fire in Southwest History

When wildfires burned almost 275,000 acres of White Mountain Apache land, NWS and Native American experts worked together to improve the accuracy of water runoff predictions and resulting flood forecasts.

Within two weeks, NWS hydrologists working with representatives of the White Mountain Apache Tribe's Hydrology Water Resources Program revised the parameters of the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting Model (SAC), a component of the National Weather River Forecast System (NWSRFS). They also implemented new forecast service for Carrizo and Cibecue Creeks that are now available to the Weather Forecast Office in Flagstaff and White Mountain Apache Tribe.

"We realized the critical nature of the situation and knew we had to act to account for the wide scale changes caused by the Rodeo-Chediski Fire," said Dave Brandon, Hydrologist-In-Charge of the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC).

On June 23, two Arizona fires merged to become the largest fire in U.S. Southwest history. The Rodeo-Chediski Fire eventually engulfed 470,000 acres (734 square miles). About 275,000 acres of the burn area is located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

Brandon said the fire drastically changed the landscape and soil cover. Temperatures at the ground were estimated near 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

"The fire burnt away the vegetation and the extreme heat created a crust on the soil, both which dramatically increased water runoff efficiency of most basins in the burn area," said Brandon. NWS and Corps of Engineers hydrologic models estimated runoff could increase from 200 to 400 percent above pre-burn conditions. In some cases, for severely burned basins, peak flows were increased by 700 to 800 percent. Two communities in danger by heavy runoff and potential flooding are Carrizo, near the confluence of Carrizo and Corduroy Creek, and Cibecue located on Cibecue Creek. Both of these communities are located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

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Cutting Edge Technologies Showcased at Utah State Fair

Fourteen NWS meteorologists and hydrologists from the Salt Lake City Weather Forecast Office (WFO) and Western Region Headquarters showcased examples of cutting edge technologies at the Utah State Fair, September 5-15, 2002.

The exhibit offered fair attendees an opportunity to be a meteorologist for a day; create the atmospheric conditions that change the speed and direction of a mock tornado; and participate in a computer-based lightning exercise, said Dave Toronto, WFO Salt Lake City Warning Coordination Meteorologist. The staff answered questions about the September 8, 2002, tornado that struck the central Utah town of Manti, showed a video of recent weather events, and used the exhibit as an opportunity to recruit volunteer weather spotters.

The most popular part of the exhibit was the open air tornado chamber, said meteorologist Mike Conger. The NWS borrowed the chamber from the Utah State University and State Climatologist, Don Jensen. Once an hour, thirty to forty people gathered around the chamber, and heard the meteorologists explain what weather conditions are required to produce a tornado.

"We invited those in the exhibit hall to get close to the tornado chamber to help us prevent the flow outside the chamber from moving though and disrupting the tornado flow," Conger said. "We had them move back and forth, raise their arms to create more air blocking, and even touch or blow on the tornado to influence or interrupt the air flow. Kids of all ages marveled at how small pieces of paper representing houses and cars bounced freely in the winds and updrafts of the tornado."

To show the fair-goers the equipment available in forecast offices, the team set up two Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) workstations at the booth with data from recent significant weather events in Utah. One case available for viewing is the snow event that took place the morning of the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, and another workstation displays data from a recent flood event in southwest Utah.

Meteorology intern Karen Kahl said, "People were fascinated with all of the colors on the computer displays of the satellite and radar imagery. Everyone seemed to be genuinely interested in how we predict the weather."

"We tried to give everyone visiting the booth an opportunity to ‘walk in our shoes' as meteorologists," added Mark Jackson, NWS Science and Operations Officer at WFO Salt Lake City.

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Ham Radio Operators in Caribbean Aid Hurricane Forecasters

For the last two years, the NWS International Activities Office has distributed over 50 low-cost automated weather observing systems to amateur shortwave radio ("Ham") operators in the Caribbean region. The purpose of the Caribbean Amateur Radio Meteorological Emergency Network (CARMEN) is to equip Ham radio operators with weather stations for transmitting critical weather data before, during, and after tropical storms to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, FL.

"Ham radio reports are very useful in determining the actual weather conditions on the ground," said Max Mayfield, NHC Director. "These reports augment our regular reporting stations, filling an important gap with their observations."

CARMEN provides Ham operators the capability to report wind direction and speed, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall amounts. The project is modeled on similar and successful Storm Spotter networks established along the coasts of the U.S. to assist the NWS. Supplemental reports gathered from these stations give a more complete view of weather conditions and improve information on which tropical weather products are made by NHC.

Richard Crouthamel, NWS International Projects Manager, said, "In spite of all the sophisticated technology now in place throughout the Caribbean, there is occasionally a loss of communications during tropical storm episodes between the national meteorological services, NHC, and the island populations they serve. Ham operators are playing an increasingly important role in providing timely weather observations to meteorologists and a back-up means of communication between national meteorological services, the NHC, and island inhabitants."

The reports are received by a Ham Radio Station located at the NHC and operated by volunteer Ham radio operators. Since 1980, the station has been activated whenever a hurricane is within 300 miles of land fall in the areas of the western Atlantic, the Caribbean, or the eastern Pacific.

Bone Marrow and Organ Donor Leave are Separate Leave Categories

Did you know leave for bone marrow and organ donation is a separate category of leave that is in addition to annual and sick leave? According to the Office of Personnel Management web site, employees may use up to 7 days of paid leave each calendar year to serve as a bone-marrow donor. Also employees may use up to 30 days of paid leave each calendar year to serve as an organ donor.

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New Federal Website to Highlight Adoptions

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush this summer announced an initiative to increase public awareness and encourage Americans to consider adoption of children in foster care.

The first federal and only national web site that focuses on waiting children, http://www.AdoptUSKids.org, is intended to reduce the geographic barriers and waiting time needed to connect children from across the country with adoptive families. The site will feature pictures and profiles of over 6,500 children from 46 states who are available for adoption, as well as a database of approved adoptive families.

For more information on the program and a public service announcement campaign to highlight adoption, visit the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/07/20020723.html.

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