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John J. Jensenius, right, Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM), of the Gray, ME, Weather Forecast Office, receives NOAA's April Employee of the Month recognition award from Albert W. Wheeler, Meteorologist in Charge, for his work with lightning safety awareness. As WCM for WFO Gray, ME, forecast office, Jensenius began the first NWS lightning safety awareness week campaign in New England, focusing on Maine and New Hampshire. Building on the local success, he took the campaign to a national audience in June 2001. Jensenius was recognized last fall for his work on lightning safety awareness by the National Weather Association (NWA) and received the NWA Public Education Award for 2005.
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Staff from the Midland, TX, Weather Forecast Office (from L to R, Wayne Patterson, Rebecca Gould, Greg Jackson, Alline Brite, Lora Mueller, Eddie Brite, Beverly Martin, David Marsalek (not pictured) and Pat Vesper (not pictured)) recently participated in the local Relay for Life, which benefits cancer research. This year's race was held on Friday, April 22, through Saturday, April 23, on the campus of Midland College. A total of 22 teams participated. Each team had to have at least one member on the track at all times between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. with the team baton. Each team also had to provide a game for other team members to take part in overnight. TEAM NWS Midland chose to make a game similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey: five natural disasters (tornado, hurricane, blizzard, volcano, and earthquake) were chosen and the blind-folded participant had to place the disaster in its most commonly found location on a national map. This educational game was intended to demonstrate that while most disasters tend to happen in certain geographical locations, they can and do happen anywhere. As TEAM NWS Midland walked along the track, they carried a lightning bolt-shaped baton made especially for the event by Electronic Systems Analyst Wayne Patterson and wore a bright orange vest with lights, reflectors, and NWS identification to be easily located during the relay. The team has raised $1,215 to date from family and friends for the event. |
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Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dave Soroka of WFO San Francisco, CA, leads a group of Junior Girl Scouts in a recent weather workshop. The kids take turns spinning Soroka's "weather wheel of knowledge" and then he asks them a question on the topic it lands on. If they get it correct, they get a prize. Approximately 30 Girl Scouts, ranging from 4th thru 6th grades, spent about 25 minutes at 5 different "stations" where they learned about the National Weather Service, Weather Forecasting, Atmospheric Pressure, Hydrologic Cycle and Preparing for Weather Disasters (with help from the Red Cross). They learned how to make fog, rain, tornadoes, and thunderstorms, as well as designing a safety kit and learning how to read a weather map. At the end of the day each Scout received a weather badge.
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WFO Austin/San Antonio, TX, WCM Larry Eblen gives an interview to News 8 Austin Reporter Allie Rasmus at the Tanger Outlet Mall in San Marcos, TX, on April 21, 2006. A supercell storm produced golfball to grapefruit-size hail, driven by 60-70 mph winds late in the afternoon on April 20. Signs and roofs at the mall suffered significant damage, as well as 7,000 buildings, and 10,000 vehicles (inset picture) in San Marcos. Total damage is expected to exceed $100 million. Photo by Science and Operations Officer Jon Zeitler.
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Meteorologist-In-Charge John Gordon shows a few children at the Louisville Bats game the tornado machine and talks about storm safety. April 15, 2006 was a busy day of outreach for WFO Louisville, KY. The office offered handouts and spoke to the public on weather safety from a booth at Louisville Slugger Field. Forecaster Schott and students Lammers and Ede were joined by MIC John Gordon in enhancing the knowledge of NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards and storm safety and preparedness for the many baseball fans in attendance. The tornado machine was a big hit and kids lined up see the mini-tornado and learn on how to be safe when a real tornado forms close to their home. Earlier the same day, the Louisville Zoo had its annual Earth Day celebration, and WFO Louisville manned a booth discussing the greenhouse effect, climate change, and storm safety. Forecaster Benjamin Schott, along with SCEP Andrea Lammers and STEP Sarah Ede spoke to many celebrating Earth Day at the zoo.
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Meteorologist Doug Cramer of WFO Springfield, MO, staffs a display for Earth Day 2006 at University of Missouri at Rolla. Over 1,000 people were in attendance. The theme for this year's Earth Day was "Plant a Seed and Watch it Grow," and the office tailored its handouts for gardening weather and climatology for planting in the Rolla, MO area. Photo by Meteorologist-In-Charge Bill Davis.
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Electronic Systems Analyst Craig Paju prepares for his next throw down the lane. WFO Glasgow, MT, has participated in a bowling league for the last two years. The team consistently places as one of the top teams in the league, and was in first place for the final third of this season. This year, the team chose the name of "Pitchforks and Torches." Meteorologist-In-Charge Julie Adolphson, who occasionally bowls with the team, jokingly tells the staff that if the forecast isn't right, the town will be marching up the hill with pitchforks and torches to let the staff know about it, so the team adopted the phrase as their own. Fourteen staff members, plus a visiting forecaster from NWS Billings rotated through the team this year. With shift workers you can't always get the same four people each Friday night, and the diversity of a different group each week keeps the other teams wondering what to expect. Pitchforks and Torches looks forward to another season, and welcomes any guests who want to show their skills, or just help out by having a good handicap!
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The 2006 Gulf Coast Hurricane Awareness Tour got off to a fast start at the Texas Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport. Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center, the aircrew from NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center, and NWS officials were on hand to launch the first leg of a five-city, five-day mission to increase hurricane awareness and encourage preparedness in vulnerable coastal and inland communities along the Gulf Coast and Florida. Other cities on the route included Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX; Mobile, AL; West Palm Beach, FL; and Tampa, FL.
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