Dr. Tom Karl, Senior Scientist at the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) has been appointed Director of NCDC. Dr. Karl has been at the Climate Center since 1980 and has analyzed global climate change, extreme weather events, and trends in global and U.S. climate over the past 100 years.
Sam Williamson has been named the new Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services heading up the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM). Williamson has served in a number of strategic roles within NOAA, the National Weather Service, and the Congress including principal planner for the NEXRAD program and Senior Science Advisor to the House Science Committee.
Scott Gudes will join NOAA as the new Deputy Under Secretary effective June 22, 1998. Mr. Gudes is currently the Minority Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State, Senate Committee on Appropriations. In addition to his work with the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Gudes has extensive experience with the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Paul F. Roberts II will join NOAA on June 8th as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Roberts is currently the Director of Business Resources in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management. He has a long history of senior budget positions in the Department of the Army.
The Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET) has completed the first web-based component of the Aviation Professional Development Series (PDS) training module. Access the module via the COMET MetEd Web site:
The module titled "Forecasting Aviation Icing: Icing Type and Severity" presents the microphysical processes and mesoscale environments that combine to create hazardous icing conditions. Illustrations describe the hazards associated with aircraft icing and discuss recent research findings in the area of supercooled large drop (SLD) clear icing. A supplementary section introduces some forecast methods and tools for diagnosing SLD clear icing conditions.
A good source for frequently updated information on NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) has been compiled by the NWS Southern Region. The Internet page includes FIPS/SAME codes and frequency listings for all U.S. counties; explanation of SAME codes and how the SAME system works; and a link to the NWR home page. Simply point to:
The Air Force has officially transferred control of its weather satellites to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a program to promote efficiency and save the taxpayers an estimated $1.3 billion.
The Air Force will close the 6th Space Operations Squadron after nearly 35 years of continuous operations at Offutt Air Force Base. NOAA's Suitland facility will become the primary location for functions associated with command and control of all U.S. weather satellites.
Beginning in October 1998, the Air Force Reserves will operate an alternate backup command and control facility at Falcon AFB, Colorado.
On June 16th, 1998 (Day 167) 0940 UTC, the Office of Satellite Operations will perform an annual GOES 9 North/South station-keeping maneuver. In order to maintain spacecraft Attitude Control System performance requirements, the earth sensor roll bias will be changed from -.065 degrees to -.040 degrees. Consequently, the GOES-9 imager and sounder nadir positions wille be cahnged accordingly. The nadir positions are used to convert between the line/pixel and latitude/longitude coordinate systems. The imager variable is being changed from 2795 to 2850. The sounder variable is being changed from 1443 to 1418. The new variables will be inserted shortly following the maneuver. The first operational image following the maneuver where the new values will take effect is 167/12:00 UTC. If these numbers are not updated by your ingest system, you should expect North/South navigation errors on the order of 16 kilometers.
Announcements and results of new model implementation such as the completion of the 4 per day Meso Eta-32 are available on the web at:
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