Contact: Marcie Katcher FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
631-244-0149 February 2, 2010

Christopher Strager of Pittsburgh to Lead the Weather Service’s Eastern Region

Christopher Strager, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., is leaving his position as head of the Pittsburgh Weather Forecast Office to become the new director of the National Weather Service’s eastern region in Bohemia, N.Y.

The eastern region provides weather, water, aviation and climate services to more than 93 million people in 21 states from Maine to northern Georgia, westward to Ohio, and includes 23 weather forecast offices, three river forecast centers and four center weather service units.

“Chris will be an outstanding asset to the eastern region,” said Jack Hayes, Ph.D., director of the National Weather Service. “His experience in both the Air Force Weather Agency and the National Weather Service has provided him with a broad range of expertise in operations and meteorology, including a solid background in aviation meteorology.”

During his time as meteorologist-in-charge of the Pittsburgh Weather Forecast Office, Strager also led a team to develop improvements for the Federal Aviation Administration’s national weather forecasting program.

“It’s truly an honor to lead a team whose mission is to put public safety first, by issuing accurate and timely warnings to save lives and property,” Strager said. “We will keep improving operations using emerging technologies to enhance our products and services for the American people, American industry and our federal, state and local emergency responders.”

Strager started his career as an enlisted weather observer with the Air Force in 1978. He was commissioned to Second Lieutenant with assignments in Panama City, Panama and Andrews Air Force Base in Md.

In 1992, Strager joined NOAA's National Weather Service at the weather forecast office in Portland, Maine. He has held leadership positions at Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Route Traffic Control Center/center weather service unit in Oberlin, Ohio, as well in Grand Forks, N.D., and Pittsburgh, Pa. In 2003 he became the regional aviation meteorologist in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2004 he became the deputy director of the Alaska region, where he remained until becoming the meteorologist-in-charge of the Pittsburgh office in 2008.

He has received a Department of Commerce Silver Medal for his work during the Red River flood in the Northern Plains and the Isaac Cline Award in meteorology for service during a tornado outbreak in Pittsburgh.

With nearly 30 years of Air Force service, both active duty and Air National Guard, Strager will retain his duties as the Commander of the Air National Guard’s 146th Weather Flight in Pittsburgh. During active duty, he received a Bronze Star for leadership during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he and his team provided specialized aviation forecasts for Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the initial phases of the conflict.

Chris received a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University in 1983 and a Master of Science in Meteorology from Texas A&M University in 1989.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

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On the Web:
National Weather Service: www.weather.gov
National Weather Service, Eastern Region: www.erh.noaa.gov
National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration: www.noaa.gov