NOUS41 KWBC 080616
PNSWSH

SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 06-37
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
1105 AM EST WED NOV 8 2006

TO:       FAMILY OF SERVICES /FOS/ SUBSCRIBERS...NOAA WEATHER
          WIRE SERVICE /NWWS/ SUBSCRIBERS...EMERGENCY MANAGERS
          WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK /EMWIN/ SUBSCRIBERS...
          NOAAPORT SUBSCRIBERS...OTHER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
          /NWS/ CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS...AND NWS EMPLOYEES

FROM:     ELI JACKS
          CHIEF...FIRE AND PUBLIC WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH

SUBJECT:  EXPERIMENTAL WEB-BASED WEATHER SAFETY PLANNER:
          EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 7 2006

EFFECTIVE THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 2006 AT 1800 UNIVERSAL COORDINATED 
TIME /UTC/...100 PM EST...THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 
ADMINISTRATION /NOAA/ NWS WILL MAKE AVAILABLE AN EXPERIMENTAL 
WEB-BASED INTERFACE ENTITLED WEATHER SAFETY PLANNER /WSP/.

THE WSP IS AN EASY TO USE INTERFACE THAT PERMITS PUBLIC ACCESS 
TO NWS DIGITAL FORECAST INFORMATION. THE WEB PAGE INTERFACE 
ALLOWS AN INDIVIDUAL TO ENTER A RANGE OF VALUES FOR SPECIFIC 
WEATHER PARAMETERS AND OBTAIN A FORECAST FOR THE DEFINED AREA OF 
INTEREST. THE INPUT IS FORECAST DATA DIRECTLY PULLED FROM THE 
LOCAL WFO DIGITAL FORECAST DATABASE. THE RESULTING DATA IS 
PRESENTED IN THE FORM OF A GRAPH AND REPRESENTS AVERAGE 
CONDITIONS FOR A 5 KILOMETER GRID BOX NEAREST TO THE USER-
SELECTED LATITUDE/LONGITUDE POINT FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. THE 
TOOL HELPS SATISFY E-GOV INITIATIVES BY PROVIDING AN AVENUE TO 
OBTAIN GOVERNMENT PROVIDED WEATHER DATA.

THE INTENDED AUDIENCE INCLUDES EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AND THE 
GENERAL PUBLIC WHO HAVE A NEED TO ASSESS FORECAST CONDITIONS FOR 
A DEFINED SET OF PARAMETERS AND ASSOCIATED THRESHOLDS AT A 
SPECIFIC LOCATION OF INTEREST.

THE EXPERIMENTAL WSP WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE FOLLOWING 
NINE /9/ WFO WEBSITES ACROSS THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES AND 
HAWAII /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

WFO CHARLESTON WV:             HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/RLX/
WFO UPTON/NEW YORK CITY NY:    HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/OKX/
WFO RAPID CITY SD:             HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/UNR/
WFO PUEBLO CO:                 HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/PUB/
WFO MORRISTOWN TN:             HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MRX/
WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX:     HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/EWX/
WFO TUCSON AZ:                 HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/TWC/
WFO BOISE ID:                  HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/BOI/
WFO HONOLULU HI:               HTTP://WWW.PRH.NOAA.GOV/PR/HNL/

THE WSP WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK FOR THE 90 
DAY PERIOD FROM DECEMBER 7 2006 THROUGH MARCH 7 2007 IN 
ACCORDANCE WITH NWS INSTRUCTION 10-102...NEW OR ENHANCED 
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES...SECTION 6.3. COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK MAY 
BE PROVIDED ONLINE BY CLICKING ON THE WSP INTERFACE 
COMMENT/FEEDBACK LINK OR VIA THE FOLLOWING URL /USE LOWER CASE 
LETTERS/:

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SURVEY/NWS-SURVEY.PHP?CODE=WXSAFPLAN

THE WSP WILL REMAIN EXPERIMENTAL UNTIL ALL FEEDBACK HAS BEEN 
ASSESSED AND A TECHNICAL ANALYSIS COMPLETED. AT THAT TIME NWS 
WILL DETERMINE WHETHER TO TRANSITION THE EXPERIMENTAL WSP TO 
OPERATIONAL STATUS...DISCONTINUE THE SERVICE...OR REVISE AND 
RETAIN THE WSP AS AN EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE FOR A REDEFINED PERIOD 
OF REVIEW. IF A DECISION IS MADE TO MAKE THE WSP OPERATIONAL... 
NWS WILL USE A STANDARD WSP AT ALL WFOS...REPLACING ANY SIMILAR 
EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTS.  

MORE DETAILS REGARDING THE WEATHER SAFETY PLANNER WILL BE ISSUED 
IN A PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT /PDD/ BEFORE THE 
BEGINNING OF THE EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD. THE PDD WILL BE ONLINE AT 
/USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

     HTTP://PRODUCTS.WEATHER.GOV/VIEWLISTE.PHP

IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE CONTACT:

     ELI JACKS
     CHIEF...FIRE AND PUBLIC WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH
     NOAA-NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
     1325 E-W HIGHWAY...SSMC2
     SILVER SPRING MD 20910
     PHONE: 301–713-1867 X110
     EMAIL: ELLIOTT.JACKS@NOAA.GOV

THIS AND ALL OTHER NWS SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES ARE AVAILABLE 
ONLINE AT /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

     HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/NOTIF.HTM

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