NOUS41 KWBC 143554
PNSWSH

SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 07-52
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
1000 AM EDT TUE OCT 16 2007

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/ PARTNERS AND USERS...NWS
          EMPLOYEES

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

SUBJECT:  IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL WEB-BASED WEATHER
          ACTIVITY PLANNER: EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 15 2007

EFFECTIVE THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15 2007 AT 1200 UNIVERSAL COORDINATED 
TIME /UTC/...0700 AM EST...THE NWS WILL MAKE AVAILABLE 
OPERATIONALLY THE WEB-BASED INTERFACE ENTITLED WEATHER ACTIVITY 
PLANNER /WAP/. IF NOVEMBER 15 2007 IS A CRITICAL WEATHER 
DAY...THE IMPLEMENTATION MAY BE POSTPONED. IN THAT CASE USERS 
WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THAT DECISION VIA TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION 
NOTICE AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE.

THE WAP 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 FORECAST DATA IS OBTAINED DIRECTLY FROM THE LOCAL 
WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE /WFO/ DIGITAL FORECAST DATABASE AND 
PRESENTED IN A GRAPHICAL DISPLAY. AVERAGE CONDITIONS FOR A  
5 KILOMETER GRID BOX NEAREST TO THE USER-SELECTED LATITUDE/ 
LONGITUDE POINT FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS ARE SHOWN.

A SAMPLE WAP OUTPUT CAN BE GENERATED BY REPLACING THE SITE 
VARIABLE /SITE=XXX/ OF THE LINK BELOW WITH A WFO ID.  THE 
FOLLOWING LINK /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/ IS FOR THE SALT LAKE CITY 
WAP /SITE=SLC/:

HTTP://FORECAST.WEATHER.GOV/WXPLANNER.PHP?SITE=SLC

THE WAP 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 WAP WILL INITIALLY BE AVAILABLE AT 119 WFO WEBSITES ACROSS 
THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES...HAWAII...PUERTO RICO...VIRGIN 
ISLANDS AND GUAM. A FUTURE SCN WILL BE ISSUED WHEN ALASKA REGION 
WFOS BEGIN PROVIDING THE WAP SERVICE.

A LINK ENTITLED WEATHER ACTIVITY PLANNER WILL BE LOCATED IN THE 
MENU ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF EACH WFO/S HOME PAGE UNDER THE 
FORECASTS SECTION.

IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE CONTACT:

    ANDY HORVITZ
    FIRE AND PUBLIC WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH
    NOAA-NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
    1325 E-W HIGHWAY
    SILVER SPRING MD 20910
    PHONE: 301-713-1868 X166
    EMAIL: ANDY.HORVITZ@NOAA.GOV

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

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

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