Director's Dialog:
Professional Development for Information Technology Staff

Why is the NWS still using such an old version of netscape software (4.79) when the current version available is 7.1? Using such an old version often is the cause of miscommunication and extra work efforts by NWS folks supporting the numerous NWS web sites.

Thanks again,

--Laurie Hogan
Eastern Region HQ, Hydrologic Services Division

Thanks for your question.

The NWS is currently using Netscape Communicator v.4.79 because this version of Netscape Communicator is the latest version which supports our Netscape Calendar. According to our Chief Information Officer Barry West, we are scheduled to upgrade the calendar in the Spring of 2004, and at that point the need to use Netscape Communicator v.4.79 will end. The new calendar will be browser independent.

--John Jones, NWS Deputy Director

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Customer Satisfaction Results Highlighted at NWA Annual Meeting

“Listening to You and Working Together” was the title of the keynote address NWS Deputy Director John Jones gave to members of the National Weather Association at the group’s annual meeting in Jacksonville, FL, October 20, 2003.

Jones outlined how NWS is conducting research through a contractor, using the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a standard survey tool many U.S. businesses and more than 70 Federal agencies have used to measure customer satisfaction with programs and services.

In 2003, the NWS surveyed media, emergency managers, aviation, and marine segments. ACSI Index scores are based on three questions: overall satisfaction with products and services; products and services compared to expectations; and, products and services compared to an ideal.
Preliminary results show that all of the NWS scores are above the Federal Government aggregate and the ACSI overall (results from both public sector and private sector customer satisfaction research done for other agencies and businesses). Watch for more details on customer satisfaction surveys in upcoming issues of NOAA's NWS Focus.

Jones also discussed the recommendations of the National Research Council’s report on weather and climate partnerships, the new NOAA and NWS strategic plans, and he offered some highlights of issues NWS is addressing in the coming years, including science and technology infusion, and developing an Air Quality Index.

Jones’ NWA presentation is available by clicking here.

Numerous other NWS staff gave presentations at the meeting.

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NWS Employees Earn National Weather Association Awards

NWS personnel earned several awards at the NWA’s recent annual meeting held in Jacksonville, FL, October 18-23, 2003:

The Operational Achievement Group Award for a significant contribution to operational meteorology was presented to Tim Oram, a meteorologist for the NWS/NASA Spaceflight Meteorology Group’s (SMG) Technique Development Unit, and SMG Lead Forecasters Tim Garner and Richard Lafosse. “As part of the NWS/NASA Spaceflight Meteorology Group, they provided extraordinary consultant support to NASA and performed outstanding intra- and interagency collaboration following the tragic break-up of the Space Shuttle Columbia,” the NWA noted. The Spaceflight Meteorology Group is part of mission control operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The entire staff of the National Weather Service Office at the FAA Training Academy in Oklahoma City, OK, was recognized for significant contributions to aviation meteorology with the NWA’s Aviation Meteorology Award. The staff was recognized for “sustained superior performance in teaching and certifying FAA pilot weather briefers, establishing a new and more comprehensive national evaluation program, and providing feedback to forecasters to improve aviation weather products, all in support of flight safety.” The FAA employs nearly 3,000 pilot weather controllers at 61 facilities throughout the United States. The controllers provide more than 16 million pilot weather briefings annually.

Ron W. Przybylinski, Science and Operations Officer at the NWS Forecast Office in Saint Charles, MO, received the T. Theodore Fujita Research Achievement Award. Przybylinski was honored for “outstanding applied research in radar analysis of severe storms and in forecasting of heavy rainfall and winter storms, and for incorporating research results including the development of conceptual storm models into improving forecasting and warning operations.”

The NEXRAD Archive Recovery Project Team comprised of personnel from the NWS/Warning Decision Training Branch, NWS/Radar Operations Center and Team RS Information Systems earned the Larry R. Johnson Special Award, which recognizes unique events or extraordinary accomplishments by an individual or group contributing to operational meteorology. The team was honored for “exceptional efforts of a diverse team of meteorologists and engineers in recovering and converting more than a decade of archived weather radar data for use in modern workstations for weather event simulations, training and research.”

Andrew H. Horvitz, NWS Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, Silver Spring, MD, earned the NWA Member of the Year Award for his “outstanding contributions to all NWA objectives and exemplary leadership of the NWA Awards Committee for fifteen years impressively promoting excellence in operational meteorology and related activities.”

Awards sponsored by NWS:

The Walter J. Bennett Public Service Award is presented to an individual or organization directly assisting the meteorological community in providing weather-related information to the public. This year’s award recognizes the Medina Electric Cooperative, which serves a 17-county area in south central Texas. Faced with a lack of coverage in parts of south Texas, Medina Electric Cooperative secured U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service grants and spearheaded the effort to install four new NOAA Weather Radio transmitters. Medina’s team members worked closely with city and county leaders from their service area to raise matching grant funding and in-kind donations to obtain the transmitters. They also launched a newspaper and publication campaign to further develop public awareness of the NOAA Weather Radio program. Once the transmitters were installed, Medina Electric began selling NOAA Weather radios to their membership at cost and donated receivers to all schools throughout the service area.

Univisión Television Network Meteorologist John Toohey-Morales received the Broadcaster of the Year Award. Considered the first true Spanish-speaking meteorologist in the United States, Toohey-Morales broadcasts nationwide from Univisión’s WLTV in Miami. Univisión reaches more than 100 million Latinos in the United States and Latin America. Toohey-Morales “consistently provided Spanish language warnings about Hurricane Andrew to South Florida residents – in 1992. He also received an Emmy Award for a Spanish language information program detailing the steps needed to save life and property during a hurricane emergency.

The NWA Special Achievement Award was presented to the developers of the Florida Automated Weather Network, for developing the Florida Automated Weather Network of 32 sites and the “significant contributions it has made to the advance of meteorology and service to the citizens of Florida.”

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NWS Service Improvement Plan Available for Review

NWS customers, partners, and employees can review and comment on the new NWS Service Improvement Plan developed by the Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services (OCWWS). The plan addresses Dissemination Services, Digital, Aviation, Climate, Fire, Hydrology, Marine, Observing, and Public services. The plan includes all national and regional product and service changes for FY 2004.

AEngage, advise, and inform is one of the NOAA strategies to help us meet NOAA's four mission goals outlined in the NOAA's Strategic Plan, A New Priorities for the 21st Century,” said OCWWS Director Greg Mandt. “We need to engage our customers and outline the capabilities both we and NOAA can bring to bear to solve increasingly complex environmental issues. This plan is a living document which will be updated continuously, as we work towards meeting our goals.”

There is a contact person listed at the end of each section of the plan. The link is at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/nsip.shtml.

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Health Benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts, Thrift Savings Open Seasons Listed

Here are the open season dates for three employee benefit programs.

• Open season for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan is November 10 through December 8, 2003. Check with your benefits expert for information on plans and choices, or find information on the web here.

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) open season also runs from November 10 through December 8, 2003. Federal employees can elect to enroll in a health care FSA or a dependent care FSA, or both, for the 2004 Plan Year. The FSA benefit allows employees to set aside money on a pre-tax basis for certain health care and/or dependent care expenses that are incurred during the year. With an FSA, employees can reduce their taxes, while paying for certain health or dependent care services. More information on FSAs is available here.

• October 15 through December 31, 2003, is the open season for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) enrollment. TSP is a voluntary retirement savings and investment plan for FERS (Federal Employees’ Retirement System) and CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System). Employees can also begin or change the amount of your contributions during an open season. More information is available here.

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