SPC has developed an experimental two day fire weather outlook to assist forecasters in wildfire support. The product incorporates both weather and a sensitivity to fuel conditions across the country. You can point to the outlooks at:
John J. Kelly, Director of the National Weather Service, reported the following information to NWS employees this week in a memo:
"The NWS Strategic Vision Committee held its second meeting in early September to begin assembling a strategic plan. Following the first meeting in late June, the committee members attempted to talk with as many NWS customers and partners as possible. In addition, responses from approximately 400 NWS employees were read by the committee. In total, well over 1,000 separate comments from NWS employees were considered and incorporated into the planning process."
"The first item at the September meeting was to prepare a vision statement. Our mission statement explains what business we are in, while our vision statement defines where we want to be in the future. The vision statement will be ready for realease in a few weeks."
"The committee also developed the general strategies that will guide the NWS in the next 5 to 10 years. From these strategies, the committee will prepare broad goals, then work with appropriate offices to establish targets and measures. When completed, the NWS strategic plan will contain specific goals, performance targets and how progress will be measured."
"The strategic plan will serve as the basis for budget planning and performance plans. Accordingly, it will be reviewed and updated at least annually. Most important, the NWS Strategic Plan will alow all of us the opportunity to better understand our plans for the future."
GOES-9 remains on orbit storage mode as a limited back up. NASA and NOAA are examining the feasibility of accelerating the launch of the GOES-L spacecraft from June 1999 to early March 1999. Engineers are reviewing the level of complexity and risk added to the orbit raising schedule under this early launch scenario.
Aviation Weather Center (AWC) computer scientist Jan Lewis deftly explains how the national radar composite graphic is put together in the WSR 88D era in the spring edition of the NWS Avition Weather Center Newsletter. This newsletter is available on-line at:
NOAA Headquarters has just published two on-line editions of its NOAA News features (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/). The page links to a public domain collection of NOAA photos as well as to NOAA News Releases. One of the most recent press releases describes this year's Antarctic Ozone hole, currently about 26 million square kilometers. Not only is this larger than the North American land mass, the hole is larger than ever observed previously. Observations began in the early 1980's.
Back to Top