The Little Rock, AR, Weather Forecast Office honored William E. Black, the cooperative weather observer in Mount Ida, AR, with two awards recently. In a ceremony at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Mount Ida, Black received the John Campanius Holm Award as one of the Nation's top observers in 2004, and he also received the Edward H. Stoll Award, recognizing his 50 years of service as a weather observer.

From Left, Allan DeLima, Acting Administrator of Maui Civil Defense; Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa; and Nezette Rydell, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Honolulu, HI, Weather Forecast Office, mark the recent designation of Maui County as StormReady and TsunamiReady. Maui is the second county in Hawaii to achieve TsunamiReady status, and the first county to be recognized StormReady.

Forecaster Mike Castillo hands out candy to a "trick-or-treater" during "Boo at the Zoo," at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX, on Halloween weekend. During "Boo at the Zoo," children (and some adults) attend the zoo in their favorite Halloween costumes. Besides handing out plenty of Halloween candy, staff from the Brownsville Weather Forecast Office distributed weather safety pamphlets and hurricane charts. Meteorologist-In-Charge Andy Patrick, Administrative Services Assistant Rachel Gutierrez, Data Acquisition Program Manager Jim Campbell, Information Technology Officer James Raley, Senior Forecaster Brian Miller, and General Forecasters Mike Castillo and Joselph Tomaselli represented WFO Brownsville during this event. Total attendance for the two nights was approximately 13,000, with many attending from nearby Mexico. Photo by Darlene Campbell, wife of Jim Campbell.

Two forecasters from NWS Binghamton, NY, prepare forecasts at the State College, PA, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) during extended backup coverage. Ted Champney, WFO Binghamton Forecaster (foreground) edits NDFD grids while Dave Morford, WFO Binghamton Forecaster (center) collaborates with Peter Jung, WFO State College Service Hydrologist, on expected heavy rainfall. The backup was conducted from November 30 to December 3, 2004, while power lines were being replaced at WFO Binghamton facilities. Photo by Dave Ondrejik, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO State College.

Take a look at other NWS news, as submitted for the NOAA Weekly Report.