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Aware Summer 2004Climate, WClimate, WClimate, WClimate, WClimate, Wateraterateraterater, W, W, W, W, Weathereathereathereathereather

Inside Aware

On June 30, NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) will beginnational implementation of the new Specific Area MessageEncoding/Emergency Alert System (SAME/EAS) eventwarning codes for a variety of non-weather events. Non-weather related EAS messages are prepared by local orstate civil authorities and may be relayed over NWR andEAS. NWS initiates only weather related EAS messages.

NWR users will be able to program their receivers torelay only chosen alert messages such as fire warnings,AMBER alerts, local area emergencies, radiological ornuclear power plant warnings, and earthquake, landslideor volcano warnings. Users who do not want to receivecertain kinds of alerts can opt out.

The Federal Communications Commission, whichmakes the rules concerning EAS, dictated the event codechanges. The NWS waited to implement the new SAME/EAS event codes and marine location codes primarily toallow EAS equipment manufacturers time to upgrade theirproducts to accommodate the new codes and to allowbroadcasters time to upgrade their EAS equipment.

NWS is upgrading existing warning-generationsoftware and weather radio formatters to handle the newcodes. The NWS Office of Climate, Water, and WeatherServices issued Service Change Notice 04-10 regardingthe topic on March 5, 2004.

NWR receiver owners should check their receiversdocumentation or contact the manufacturer to see if thenew event codes are already programmed into the receiveror if they can be manually added. Customers shouldprogram their new SAME/EAS event codes before June30. If the new event codes cannot be added to existingNWR receivers, the receiver may generate an unknownevent alarm. Owners of non-upgradable radios wishingto receive the new codes would have to purchase a newermodel radio receiver.

The next improvement of non-weather emergencymessage relay on NWS dissemination systems will comein September 2004. The NWS will issue another ServiceChange Notice early this summer to announce use of newproduct codes to parallel message content of non-weatheremergency text messages in September. Working together,emergency managers, broadcasters, and the NWS can ensure asmooth implementation of these new event codes. And, with theuse of these new codes, the public can be better alerted and

prepared for non-weather emergencies.A complete list of the current and new SAME/EAS

codes to be implemented on June 30 is available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/eas_codes.htm. Recommendeddefinitions and content of non-weather event messages isavailable in NWS Instruction 10-518 Appendix C,available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/NWSI_10-518AppC.pdf.andhttp://www.fcc.gov/eb/eas/ .

2 Hurricanes/Tsunamis2 Hydrology/Floods3 Marine Services

4 NOAA Weather Radio7 Outreach/Education8 Publications9 Severe Weather11 Statistics11 StormReady/TsunamiReady13 Tsunamis13 Writers Corner14 Climate, Water, Weather Links

New NWR Warning Event Codes To Be Implemented on June 30

By Herb White, NWS Dissemination Services ManagerHerbert.White@noaa.gov

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NOAAs National Weather ServiceOffice of Climate, Water, and Weather ServicesGregory Mandt, DirectorMike Tomlinson, Chief, Performance and Awareness Div.Bob McLeod, Chief, Awareness BranchRon Gird, Outreach ManagerMelody Magnus, Donna Ayres, EditorsMailing List/Articles: Melody.Magnus@noaa.govQuestions: Melody Magnus: 301-713-1970 x163

Aware in PDFweather.gov/om/aware.PDFAwareNowweather.gov/om/awarenow.shtml

Aware

Hurricane Preparedness Week:Hunters Take Flight

By Stacy Stewart, HS/WCM, TPC/NHC, Miami, FLStacy.R.Stewart@noaa.gov

The NOAA Tropical Prediction Center/NationalHurricane Center (TPC/NHC) is actively engagedin two major hurricane preparedness and outreachprograms for the public and emergency managers:

Hurricane PreparednessWeek and the HurricaneHunter program.

President GeorgeBush declared May 16-22,

2004, National HurricanePreparedness Week, thethird year for this nationalawareness event. Thisyear the name of the weekchanges from HurricaneAwareness Week.

The far-reachingeffects caused by thelandfall of HurricaneIsabel last year along the

East Coast have brought increased attention to the needfor hurricane preparedness.

For a wealth of information about hurricanes and howto prepare for them, go to www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml, for an English version and www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/espanol/intro_ espanol.shtml for aSpanish explanation.Hurricane Hunters

Each year, the TPC/NHC staff, in conjunction withflight crews from NOAA or U.S. Air Force ReserveHurricane Hunters, visit the Caribbean and CentralAmerica on a Hurricane Awareness Tour (HAT) topromote hurricane preparedness and awareness. Thisyear, TPC/NHC Director Max Mayfield and a host ofother dignitaries made stopovers in Mexico, Dominica,Martinique, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico

alone, nearly 10,000 people toured the Air Force WC-130Hurricane Hunter aircraft.

NWS conducted a Hurricane Awareness Tour May16-21 for the Gulf of Mexico coastal area. Stopoversincluded Houston, TX; Baton Rouge, LA; Panama City,FL; Key West, FL; and Port Charlotte, FL.

For additional information about the HAT, go towww.nhc.noaa.gov/NOAA_pr_03-04-04.shtml .

Flood Safety Campaign LaunchedTurn Around Dont Drown

Larry Wenzel, OCWWS, Hydrologic Services DivisionLarry.Wenzel@noaa.gov

Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding thanfrom any other severe weather related hazard. Why? The

main reason is people underestimating the force andpower of water. Many of the deaths occur in vehicles asthey are swept downstream. Most of these drowningsare preventable, but toomany people continue todrive through flowingwater or around thebarriers warning thatthe road is flooded.

All it takes to losecontrol of your vehicleis 6 inches of flowingwater, and in 2 feet of

water most vehicles willfloat.

Turn Around DontDrown (TADD) is asafety campaign developed by the NWS Southern Regionto reduce the number of deaths and loss of property.Because of their efforts, it has become a national campaignthroughout the NWS. Many agencies, including theAmerican Red Cross, the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA), the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes

Hurricanes

Hydrology/Flooding

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Marine Services

NWS Takes Part in Break theGrip of the Rip Campaign

By Timothy Schott, Marine ServicesEdited by Donna Ayres, Aware EditorTimothy.Schott@noaa.gov

Rip currents are a major cause of drowning deaths atsurf beaches. More than 100 people a year are reported tohave drowned when they were unable to escape from arip current. An unknown number of rip current relateddeaths go unreported.

To prevent future deaths, NWS, in partnership withNOAAs Sea Grant Program, the National Ocean Serviceand the U.S. Lifesaving Association, launched a campaignto educate the public on how to make their beachexperience safer. This summer, a new brochure, Breakthe Grip of the Rip, is being distributed at beaches wherefrequent rip currents occur. The team is providing publicservice announcements on rip current safety and artworkfor outdoor metal signs to be posted along boardwalksand beachfronts.

A national media event was held on May 24 atWrightsville Beach, NC, to highlight rip current safety.NOAA Administrator VADM Conrad Lautenbacherheadlined the event, which marked the start of the 2004National Beach Safety Week.

NWS standardized a new Surf Zone Forecast productand rip current information for the 2003 season. The 2004Break the Grip of the Rip campaign continues our effortsto prevent deaths from these killer currents.

For further information, visit www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov or contact Tim Schott at 301-713-1677 x122.

(FLASH), and numerous state and local governments havepartnered with the NWS on TADD.

NWS has created a toolbox at http://tadd.weather.govto provide NWS field offices and others with the resourcesthey need to promote Turn Around Dont Drown. Thetoolbox includes:

Introduction to TADD

Headlines and News from Across the Country TADD Success Stories Audio Visuals, Brochures, Resources, Articles

and Publications.

Contributions to enhance the TADD toolbox arealways welcome and should be sent to Larry.Wenzel@noaa.gov.

NWS Releases New and RevisedMarine Service Charts

By Richard May, Meteorologist, Marine and Coastal BranchRichard.May@noaa.gov

Marine and Coastal Weather Services published thefollowing Marine Service Charts (MSC) since summer2003.

MSC #9, Central and Northern California Waters:Now includes three of the largest NOAA marine sanc-tuaries: Cordell Bank, Gulf of Farallones and MontereyBay. For more information on the marine sanctuariesgo to www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa. gov.

MSC #16, Guam and Northern Mariana IslandWa-ters: In print as of September 2003.

MSC #2, Long Island Waters and New York Harbor:Now contains a section for new buoy data available

via email. MSC #13, Hawaiian Islands: Now contains the

boundaries of the Hawaiian Island Humpback WhaleMarine Sanctuary.

MSC #14, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands:Under development; will include more geographicnames and locations than older versions.

Marine Service Charts provide detailed informationto mariners on how to get marine weather information.Each chart covers a different segment of the U.S. coastlineor territorial waters.

NWS marine focal points may order these charts from

the National Logistics Supply Center. For the public, MSCcharts are distributed at major marine expositions andcan be ordered online at www. nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/pub.htm.

Marine PDS ProgramTo Expand To Six Modules

By Richard May, Meteorologist, Marine and Coastal Branch

Richard.May@noaa.gov

Staff from the Office of Services and CooperativeProgram for Operational Meteorology, Education andTraining (COMET) are developing six marine ProfessionalDevelopment Series (PDS) modules.

Module 1:Wave Types and Characteristics, releasedin August 2003, is online at meted.ucar.edu/topics

_marine.php.

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NWS Plans HazCollect System forNon-Weather Emergency Messages

Herb White, NWS Dissemination Program ManagerBy Herbert.White@noaa.gov

NWS will implement a new, centralized point ofcollection for non-weather related emergency messagesbroadcast over NWS systems. NWS received specificfunding to develop the All Hazards Emergency MessageCollection System in its Fiscal Year 2004 budget when

President Bush signed the FY04 Omnibus AppropriationsBill into law January 23, 2004.

NWS expects to deploy the All-Hazards EmergencyMessage Collection System, HazCollect, in the summerand fall of 2005. HazCollect will provide an informationtechnology interface between state and local systems, suchas EMnet, and the NWS Advanced Weather InteractiveProcessing System (AWIPS). HazCollect will work throughFEMAs Disaster Management Interoperability Services.

Emergency managers need a fast, reliable way to injectmessages into the Emergency Alert System (EAS); however,no single technical solution has been federally mandatedor locally selected to do this. Each state is free to chooseany system it prefers.

From a system management and security perspective,it not advisable for NWS to attach multiple interfaces tothe AWIPS and Local Area Networks of each of the 122Weather Forecast Offices. So many interfaces open up alarge number of external portals for viruses and hackersand increase the overhead for software upgrades and

NOAA Weather Radio/

Dissemination

Modules 2 and 3:Wave Life Cycle: Generation andWave Life Cycle: Propagation and Dissipation arescheduled for release the first half of this year. ScottStripling, NWS San Juan, P.R., and Troy Nicolini, NWSEureka, CA, are the lead producers for these modules.

Modules 4 and 5: both on Marine Winds, are beingwritten by Wendell Nuss, Instructor at the Naval PostGraduate School, and Brad Colman, NWS Seattle.

Module 6: Rip Currents is being drafted by Tim Schott,OS Marine Services.

In addition, OS Marine Branch staff is coordinatingwith COMET on the marine portion of the Numerical

Weather Prediction PDS.

hardware maintenance. A more practical approach isto establish one secure, centralized interface withbackups where all the various systems have fewer, moremanageable connections to the NWS systems.

NWS also is searching for interim solutions to addresspotential double-trip EAS messages broadcast over NWRand through systems such as EMnet. The NWS willcontinue as a full partner in EAS, with NOAA Weather

Radio remaining the NWS primary input to EAS, andwhere chosen by state and local authorities, the primaryinput to EAS for emergency messages of all types ofhazardous events.

NWS is carefully planning a comprehensive solutionto import emergency managers critical non-weatheremergency messages into the NWS disseminationinfrastructure. NWS intends this new system to ensureefficient distribution to other national systems and to EASfor rebroadcast.

NWS Responds to CustomersWith Valid Time Event Coding

By Herb White, NWS Dissemination Services ManagerHerbert.White@noaa.gov

In response to customer requests, NWS has developedValid Time Event Coding (VTEC), a new code string to beused in many NWS event-driven text products and inroutine marine forecasts.

VTEC will explicitly describe the parameters of Watch,

Warning and Advisory (WWA) events. VTEC also willaid in the automated delivery of WWA information to andby our customers and partners. This new code form wasrequested by NWS partners and customers withwhom NWS coordinated development, testing andimplementation.

There will be two types of VTEC strings: Primary-VTEC (P-VTEC), which will be used every time VTECcoding is required, and Hydrologic-VTEC (H-VTEC), tobe used in conjunction with P-VTEC during Flood andFlash Flood WWA events.

The P-VTEC string contains information on theWWA product being issued, including the time that WWA

conditions are expected to begin and end, and an EventTracking Number which identifies a particular eventduring its lifetime.

VTEC will be produced automatically by the AWIPSbaseline product formatters. NWS staff will not directhandle VTEC coding. The values appearing in the VTECstrings will be taken from the event parameters entered byforecasters into the baseline formatter templates as theyprepare WWA products.

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The new NWS Instruction 10-1703, which took effectin June, describes the rules and uses of VTEC. The directivecontains numerous examples of VTEC coding to betterfamiliarize NWS staff and partners and customers. Theseinclude full event sequences of Winter Storm and Floodproducts, a Special Marine Warning, and Warnings andAdvisories in Routine Marine Forecasts.

NWS plans to implement product quality control

software in WWA and WarnGen AWIPS baseline productformatters at the same time as VTEC implementation. Thepresence of VTEC in NWS products and the qualitycontrol checks may lead to changes in currentWFO Operational Procedures when issuing, updating,correcting, and/or ending WWA events. NWS is planningtraining for forecast office staff over the next severalmonths.

NWS conducted an Initial Operation Testing andEvaluation at its headquarters in late April. NWSHeadquarters Program leads and then NWS FieldForecasters ran numerous VTEC scenarios through theproduct formatters. In addition to the new VTEC coding

and quality control software, NWS also tested changes toproduct headlines.

An Operational Testing and Evaluation is plannedfor the late summer/early fall at a number of forecast officenationwide. Operational implementation of most productsis planned for February 2005. For more information onVTEC, go to weather.gov/os/vtec.

EMWIN Changes Coming

With GOES-N SatelliteBy Bill Johnson, EMWIN Transition Manager, NWS CIOWilliam.Johnson@noaa.gov

The Emergency Managers Weather InformationNetwork (EMWIN) is an NWS dissemination system thatprovides timely dissemination of warnings, watches,graphics, and forecasts to customers at minimal cost.

The primary users of EMWIN include emergencymanagers, radio and television stations, and others whoneed timely, essential weather information

When the next generation GOES satellite series

becomes operational, the EMWIN signal will no longer bebroadcast in its current form. Changes in the satellitebroadcasts will require changes in commercial satellitereceivers currently used.

GOES-N is scheduled for launch in December. It willbe stored in-orbit following 6 months of testing andcheckout. The EMWIN broadcast will shift to GOES-Nsometime between 2005 and 2011.

On April 27, NWS hosted an EMWIN User-Vendorconference to gather input from users and vendors beforefinalizing the NWS EMWIN transition plan for the GOES-N generation satellite. There were two recurring messagesfrom the attendees of the conference.

Most EMWIN users have limited funding and what-ever hardware/software is required in the next

EMWIN era must be inexpensive. Users want increased bandwidth to allow for the

growth in quantity and size of emergency weatherinformation products.

To keep NWS Forecast Offices in the loop on theEMWIN transition, we have been sending periodictransition status emails to NWS Regional WCMsrequesting they forward them onto field WCMs.

Emergency Managers can stay informed of EMWINtransition progress by contacting their local WCM or byvisiting the NWS EMWIN website at: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/emwin/index.htm.

Weather Page Draws TV Attention:NWS and WAXO-AM

By Jerry Orchanian, WCM, Nashville, TNJerry.Orchanian@noaa.gov

ITO Mike Davis and I recently did a live radiointerview on WAXO-AM, Lewisburg, TN, and on Cable

Access TV channel 12, to promote Severe WeatherAwareness Week, tornado drill day and SkyWarn. Mikefocused on a weather Web page he helped create for

Standing is WCM Jerry Orchanian and ITO Michael Davis.Seated is General Manager Bob Smartt.

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Outreach/Education

WAXO-AM and its low-power cable TV affiliate. Mikeswork impressed General Station Manager Bob Smarttenough to earn the interview invitation.

Mike commented that for outreach purposes, inconjunction with Tennessee Severe Weather AwarenessWeek, he designed a Web-based application forthe WAXO-TV in Lewisburg, TN. This Web-basedapplication displays 88D radar and warning/watch

plot map, satellite, Storm Prediction Center WatchesDay 1 Convective Outlooks and a regional radar shotcontinuously looping. It displays the NWS logo andWebsite along with the closest automated observation. T

Rural Utilities Service HelpsFund New NWR Transmitter

By Rick Dittmann, WCM, Great Falls, MTRick.Dittmann@noaa.gov

On a mild day in southwest Montana, NWS GreatFalls staff and Western Region Headquarters teamed with

other local, state and federal agency representatives todedicate the new Dillon NWR transmitter.

The Rural Utilities Service of the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture provided $5 million in grantsfor the purchase of NWR transmitter systems in areaswhere the population met rural specifications. A great dealof the recent NWR expansion across the United States

was funded through this grant program. The transmitterlocated at 9,500 feet atop Maurer Mountain was installedduring a vicious late spring wind and snow storm.

NWS WesternRegion Chief ofSystemsOperationsDivision BobDiaz addressesthe crowd at thededication of the

Dillon, MT,NWR transmitter.

NWS SkyWarn Program BecomesRequired Part of University Program

By Greg Gust, WCM, Grand Forks, NDGregory.Gust@noaa.gov

When have the clouds become threatening? Now youknow! This was my tag line as an instructor to 23 studentsin Professor Lloyd Mitchells Online Weather Studies classin severe weather detection and reporting procedures.

Professor Mitchell has made SkyWarn Spottertraining with the Grand Forks NWS office a mandatorypart of his class curriculum. About 45 of his students arenow trained SkyWarn Spotter. About half of these studentsare also part of the Indians Into Geological Sciencesprogram sponsored by the University of North Dakota

(UND) in Grand Forks and led by Professor Mitchell.Mitchell is primarily an instructor in the UND GeologyDepartment. He recently earned his credentials as anOnline Weather Studies Instructor via the AmericanMeteorological Societys Faculty Enhancement Workshop.

Local NWS Kids Weather HourHit the Airwaves

By Steve Drillette, WCM, NWS Amarillo, TXSteve.Drillette@noaa.gov

From January through May 2004, NWS Amarillo, TX,hosted a Kids Weather Houron NWR. Local children ofall ages, as well as teachers, were encouraged to tune in asNWS Meteorologists read and answered student weatherquestions via weather radio.

The program was limited to listeners in local countieswith NWR coverage, those surrounding Amarillo.Participants are required to have Internet access and anNWR receiver or access to a local AM radio channel. AnNWS Amarillo Website offered full instructions foraccessing the program as well as information about NWR.The program has been a huge success judging by thenumber of questions received for the show. T

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Easier Online Response Systems forCustomer Questions Moves Forward

By Melody Magnus, Aware EditorMelody.Magnus@noaa.gov

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM)system is a Web-based interface for answering questionsfrom partners and customers. The system will graduallyreplace emails to Webmasters or specific staff with aFrequently Asked Questions section and an option for apersonal response from a service expert or customer servicerep.

The system offers customers the advantage of a singleentry point for any weather service question, an organizedset of answers to the most frequently asked questions or apersonal response from the most qualified NWS staffmember. CRM allows coworkers to easily share workloadduring busy times or vacations, rather than having

questions sit for extended periods in a single mailbox.Service reps can use templates that have standard orpersonal greetings and closings, reducing errors andsaving time. Staff can save common and unusualresponses in the database for easy access by anyonequalified to respond to questions. The response fromcustomers so far has been extremely positive:

Response helpful85 percent: 49 percent stronglyagree, 36 percent agree

Interface Easy to Use81 percent: 45 percent stronglyagree, 36 percent agree

Response Timely98 percent: 67 percent strongly

agree, 31 percent agree

The CRM system has undergone several majoroverhauls to improve the interface and meet variousgovern- ment requirements. After the next set ofrequirements will be approved this summer, CRM may beexpanded to include the NWS Webmaster. Currently, it isbeing used operationally by the Data Management Branchof the NWS Chief Information Officer and by the NWSOffice of Services. To see the system, go to weather.gov/os/contact.shtml.

NWS Evaluates Service

for Major Weather Eventsby Wayne Presnell, NWS Performance BranchWayne.Presnell@noaa.gov

The Record Tornado Outbreaks of May 4-10, 2003Service Assessment Report was released in March. Thereport examined NWS services during a tornado outbreakin the central and southern United States that producedan unprecedented number of tornadoes and resulted in39 fatalities in four states. Six of the tornadoes wereclassified as F4 on the Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale.

NWS customers and partners were satisfied with

the services before and during the outbreak, oftenexpressing their gratitude for the high level of performanceprovided. The report identified nine recommendations forimprovements within the NWS severe weather warningprocess. The report can be downloaded at: weather.gov/os/assessments/index.shtml .

Three other Service Assessment reports are currentlybeing written: Hurricane Isabel, September 18-19, 2003 Southern California Wildfires, Oct 20Nov 3, 2003 Baltimore Inner Harbor Taxi Incident, March 2004.

Check the Website above later this year for thesereports.

Owlie SkyWarn Gets WingsUpdated in Revised Booklet

By Melody Magnus, Aware EditorMelody.Magnus@noaa.gov

This summer, the NWS Performance and Awareness

Branch will release an updated version of Owlie SkyWarn,a longtime favorite NWS product geared towardKindergarten to 6th grade students. The revised Owliebooklet offers clean, crisp graphics, up-to-date statisticsand examples, and a new easier-to-use format.

The new and improved Owlie can be used either asone large booklet covering five major weather hazards oras separate sections, each with quizzes and games for

Publications

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Severe Weather

2004 Lightning Safety AwarenessWeek Campaign

By Steve Kuhl, National WCM Program ManagerStephan.Kuhl@noaa.gov

NWS hosted its fourth annual National LightningSafety Awareness Week (LSAW) from June 20-26, 2004.This years campaign is focusing on outdoor recreation.Torii Hunter, recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove awardin 2001 and 2002 and a 2002 Major League Baseball All

Star for the Minnesota Twins, will help NWS promotelighting safety by appearing on this years Lighting Kills,Play It Safe poster.

This year the NWS LSAW Team has also teamed upwith Little League Baseball to promote lightning safety. ANOAA Press Release describing these efforts was issuedon March 17 entitled Keeping the Game SafeNOAATeams with Little League Baseball on Lightning SafetyAwareness.

MajorLeagueBaseball

MinnesotaTwins StarHeadlinesLightningSafety

Little League Baseball provided lightning-safetyinformation to sports officials across the country throughits safety newsletter,ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program).In its Nov./Dec. 2003 newsletter, Little League Baseballincluded a copy of a trifold brochure called, Coachs andSports Officials Guide to Lightning Safety, which wascreated by the NWS.

Copies of the Torii Hunter poster, NOAA PressRelease and Coachs and Sports Officials Guide toLightning Safety are available on the NWS LightningSafety Website at: www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.

New Product to Provides MoreSpecific Warnings and Watches

By Rich Okulski, NWS Severe Weather Program LeaderRichard.Okulski@noaa.gov

NWS is transitioning this year to a new suite ofproducts to inform customers which counties, parishes,independent cities and nearshore marine zones are

included in Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches.The process used to provide customers with these productsis called Watch By County. NOAAs Storm PredictionCenter started issuing the first operational product in thissuite called the Watch Outline Update Message on January6, 2004.

The Watch By County suite of severe weatherproducts provides NWS partners and customers with anorderly process to receive new, modified, and cancelled

teachers who prefer to focus on one or two hazards areas.The new format will allow a teacher in North Dakota todownload the Winter Weather section but skip Hurricaneswhile a classroom in Kansas can focus on Tornadoes andLightning to meet curriculum goals. The six sections inOwlie include:

Hurricanes

Lightning Tornadoes Floods and Flash Floods Winter Storms

For younger children, the product offers pages thatcan be colored. Older kids can try the easy games andquizzes. Owlie comes in an 8.5 x 11 format to allowteachers to easily reproduce pages. Limited copies of thebooklet will be available at no charge from the NationalLogistics Supply Center and from local NWS offices. Theproducts can also be downloaded as one product orin separate sections from www.nws.noaa.gov/om/

brochures.shtml.If you would like to be notified when the revised Owlie

is released, email Melody.Magnus@noaa.govand I willsend you an update.

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High School Athletic AssociationCreates Lightning Awareness PSAs

by Andy Kula, Meteorologist, NWS Des Moines, IAAndy.Kula@noaa.gov

NWS Des Moines has partnered with Alan Beste ofthe Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) toinform athletes, coaches and umpires about the dangers

of lightning. They have produced eight high quality audioPublic Service Announcements for Lightning Safety toinform Iowa athletes about the dangers of lightning.

B.J. Schaben of Clear Channel Radio and a local sportsradio/TV analyst for Iowa State University, DrakeUniversity and Iowa High School sports graciouslyrecorded the announcements. IHSAA is producing anddistributing the CDs for 88 Iowa radio stations for useduring sports broadcasts. Each high school will alsoreceive them for use during public address systemannouncements.

The PSAs can be reproduced and distributed foranyone as long as no cost is incurred for the receivers of

the PSAs. NWS Des Moines is distributing the PSAs toother local officials, emergency managers and sportsorganizations including the Iowa Games and the IowaCubs, AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

The announcements, in .wav format, scripts and aPowerPoint CD cover are available on the WCM Resourcepage. In addition, the local Central Iowa Chapter of theNational Weather Association posted the PSAs on itschapter web page. Finally, the PSAs, in MP3 format, areon the National Lightning Safety Website: www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/wcm/. T

severe weather (Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm) watchinformation. Watch By County products are issuedthrough a partnership between local Weather ForecastOffices and the Storm Prediction Center.

NOAAs NWS will conduct an Operational Test andEvaluation of the Watch By County severe weatherproducts from June through August. These products willhave real time severe weather information for select

locations within the continental United States, howeverthey are to be used for evaluation purposes only. NOAAsNWS plans to implement the full Watch By County suiteof severe weather products no later than January 2005.

McDonalds Launches McReadyin Oklahoma to Promote SevereWeather Awareness

By Richard Smith, WCM, Norman, OKRichard.Smith@noaa.gov

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry proclaimed April2004 as McReady Oklahoma Family Preparedness Monthin Oklahoma. NWS Offices in Tulsa and Norman havepartnered with several groups and agencies, including:

American Red Cross OG&E Electric Services Oklahoma Citizen Corps Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Oklahoma Emergency Management Association

Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association The Salvation Army Tulsa Mayors Citizen Corps/Tulsa Partners, Inc.

To highlight severe weather preparedness, in Aprilall 170 McDonalds restaurants in the state displayedweather safety information, including brochures on familypreparedness, tornado, lightning and flash flood safetyand NWR.

As part of the campaign, each McDonalds restaurantin the state now has a Weather Radio. In addition, weathersafety information will be featured prominently on trayliners and bag stuffers so all customers will be exposed toweather safety messages during the month. GovernorHenry announced the beginning of McReady OklahomaFamily Preparedness month in an April 2 news conferenceat the state capitol in Oklahoma City.

McReady Oklahoma began as a small project last yearthat has expanded this year to include the entire state.Tulsa WCM George Mathews and I served as members ofthe planning committee.

You can find more information about the program byvisiting www.mcready.org.

NWS Meteorologist Andy Kula, left, and Alan Beste inCedar Rapids, IA, at the Iowa Coaches and Umpires Clinic.

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Statistics

Preliminary 2003 Injury, Fatality,

Damage Statistics PostedBy Brenton MacAloney, Office of ServicesBrent.MacAloney@noaa.gov

The Office of Services recently released final 2003injury, fatality and damage statistics for all major weathercategories.

Fatalities dropped from 540 in 2002 to 423 in 2003,while injuries dropped from 3090 to 2913 in the same timeframe. By contrast, property damage more than doubledfrom $4.26 billion in 2002 to $10.26 billion in 2003.

The major killer in 2003 was flooding with 86 deaths,

compared to 49 in 2002. Flooding replaced heat as themostly deadly weather in 2002. The next most deadlyweather events were tornadoes, which claimed 54 livesand lightning, which claimed 44. In 2002, tornadoes tookthe lead with 55 deaths.

Tornadoes remain the greatest danger for injurieswith 1,087 in 2003, up from 968 in 2002. Lightning andthunderstorm winds resulted in 237 and 226 injuriesrespectively and tropical storms/hurricanes accountedfor 233 injuries.

Property damage in 2003 was most heavily attributedto wildfire ($2.3 billion), flash flooding ($2.1 billion) andtropical storms and hurricanes ($1.88 billion).

As in 2002, the most significant crop damage in 2003was caused by drought, which resulted in 572.5 millionin losses.

Final statistics were released in late June. For moredetails, go to: www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml.

Storm/TsunamiReady

Tooele Army Depot In Utah BecomesFirst Military Facility StormReady Site

By Marilu Trainor, NOAA NWS Public AffairsMarilu.Trainor@noaa.gov

On May 11, Ret. Air Force Brigadier General andDirector of the National Weather Service David L. Johnsonpresented the Tooele Army Depot in Utah with a Certificate

On May 11, Tooele Army Depot, Tooele, UT, became the firstmilitary site certified as StormReady. Pictured from left are

Malcolm Walden, Chief of the Management Analysis andEvaluation Office at the depot, Commander of the Tooele

Army Depot Lt. Col. Karol Ripley, and NWS DirectorGeneral Johnson.

of Achievement, designating the facility as the first militaryStormReady site. Lt. Colonel Karol Ripley, commander ofthe Depot accepted the award.

During the last few months the depot has beenworking with the NWS Forecast Office in Salt Lake City tofill the requirements for the StormReady designation.Tooele County in Utah received the designation in July of2003, inspiring the management and staff at the depot towork for its own StormReady status. With 700 employeesand its own security force and emergency managementsystem, the depot is in many respects like a small

community where all StormReady criteria could beexpected to be met.The management and staff of the Tooele Army Depot

helped meet the criteria by increasing their responsecapabilities for severe weather at its 24-hour dispatchcenter and Emergency Operation Center (EOC), An Internetemail system was made available in both the dispatchcenter and EOC, new weather alert radios were installedin these locations and other buildings around the facility,and a new section of the facilitys Emergency OperatingPlan was developed specifically for hazardous weather.Dave Toronto conducted spotter training for newvolunteers and provided weather safety seminars for the

management and staff at the facility.After receiving the Certificate of Achievement, Col.

Ripley said, The StormReady program is a great approachthat helped us shore up and develop systems and plansto handle local severe weather in any season, andstrengthen our cooperative ties with the National WeatherService. We are excited to be recognized for our readinesscapabilities and proud to be associated with the NWS asStormReady partners, and as the first StormReady facilityin the Department of Defense.

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Symposium on Planning and Preparedness for Weather-Related Disasters in Hong Kong.

StormReady County Goes Extra Mile;Wins FEMA Recognition

By Greg Gust, WCM, Grand Forks, NDGregory.Gust@noaa.gov

With some of the most severe winter weather in thecountry, Pembina County, ND, became StormReady inNovember. The county has 11 incorporated communitiesand a total population of less than 9,000 people, butadopted the program in style.

The county emergency manager placed weatherradios in all nine of the countys schools, both hospitals,both nursing homes, all county and municipal buildingsand all the swimming poolsa total of more than 30radios. This past summer, Pembina County was declareda Disaster Resistant County by the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA), making it only the secondso designated county in the nation.

StormReady Gains InternationalRenown via Hong Kong Conference

By Steve Kuhl, National WCM Program Managerstephan.kuhl@noaa.gov

This spring, I represented the United States and NWSat the symposium Planning and Preparedness forWeather-Related Disasters in Hong Kong . I was invited

to attend the Symposium by C.Y. Lam, Director, HongKong Observatory, after Lam heard about the NWSStormReady program and other outreach activities.

My presentation focused on the StormReady program,and the International Decade for Natural DisasterReduction, the Integrated Warning System, NWSpartnerships, the role of WCMs, the National DisasterEducation Coalition, NWS Lightning Safety AwarenessWeek, and other NWS outreach initiatives.

Attendees from China and Australia told me theywere impressed with the amount of effort that NWS putsinto outreach. They also said they were going to show my

presentation to their meteorological services colleagues.We all agreed that running a robust weather safetyoutreach program is necessary to implement a successfulwarning and preparedness program in our countries.

At the end of the symposium, I also took part in adiscussion forum to address questions posed by theapproximately 60 attendees. In addition to Hong Kong

and the United States, other nations represented included

China, Macau, Japan, Ireland and Australia.

Local TV Station CarriesStormReady Ceremony

Jerry Orchanian, WCM Nashville, TNJerry.Orchanian@noaa.gov

MIC Larry Vannozzi, WCM Jerry Orchanian and ITOMichael Davis from the NWS Nashville office took part ina StormReady ceremony at the beginning of the FentressCounty Executive Meeting in Jamestown, TN. The eventwas televised by the local cable TV station. Fentress Countyhas become the 5th StormReady county in mid Tennessee.Mayor and NWS Spotter John B. Mullinix commendedthe efforts the NWS has undertaken to make FentressCounty a safer place to live and on guard for storms withtimely weather warnings.

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Tsunami Coordination Team

Agrees on Key Program ChangesBy Jeff Lorens, Western Region WCM Program ManagerJeffrey.Lorens@noaa.gov

NWS took part in a Tsunami Coordination Meetingin March, in Honolulu, HI. This meeting, hosted by NWSPacific Region Headquarters, was a joint effort involvingNWS and other federal and state agencies. The keydecisions were:

Western and Alaska Regions will conduct another,more all-encompassing tsunami warning test in Sep-

tember 2004. Their plan is to use the actual tsunamiwarning codes, as opposed to last year, when onlytest codes were used. An extensive outreach campaignis planned for the media and public in associationwith the test. Pacific Region conducts an annual testin April. There is a possibility that Pacific Region mayalso take part in the September test.

A team was formed to evaluate the concept of publicfriendly products, tsunami warning productsworded and designed specifically for the public andmedia.

A team also was formed to evaluate possible use ofmultiple warning levels based on expected wave im-pacts.

2004 Tsunami Coordination Meeting attendees.

Tsunamis The emphasis was on getting all the key people in thetsunami warning program together. In NWS, this meanteveryone from field WCMs to national headquarters. Italso meant bringing in key people outside NWS: emergencymanagement officials, primarily state-level, and othergovernment organizations with interest in the programsuch as FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey and the NOAA

Ocean Service.The meeting focused on improving tsunami warning

procedures, as well as associated outreach, education andmedia issues.

It had been nearly 5 years since a meeting of this kindwas held. As a result of this years meeting, some keydecisions were made and actions taken, all with the aimof improving the NWS tsunami warning program. T

Writers Corner

Tips for Better Writing

By Donna Ayres, EditorDonna.Ayres@noaa.gov

Writing: everyone has to do it; everyone agonizes whiledoing it. Here are some tips to make the task easier.

Thats Unnecessary

That is a much used but mostly unnecessary word.When youre writing or proofreading (of course, youcarefully proofread everything you write!), take a fewminutes to see if you can justify each that. Theres agood chance that this four-letter word adds little or nothingto your sentence. In fact, it probably impedes the flow ofyour words. Read your sentence out loud without thethat. If the meaning is still clear, cut that out.

Examples: The meteorologist predicted that wedhave four inches of snow. vs. The meteorologistpredicted wed have four inches of snow.

We believe that this program will continue to benefitall customers. vs. We believe this program will continue

to benefit all customers.Of course, there are times when that should be used

to ensure clarity. But most of the time, get rid of it. Yourwriting will be clearer and more concise without it.

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By Don Wernly, Office of ServicesDonald.Wernly@noaa.gov

Many years ago, a forecaster in the Fort Worth WeatherForecast Office made the following comment whilereflecting upon retirement: Hopefully, this place is a littledifferent, a little better as a result of my being here. I would

like to think Ileft a footprint.Last summer, LindaKremkau retiredfrom the Perfor-mance and Aware-ness Division. Andthrough her work,made a differencethat will last a

lifetime.In the late 80s,Linda was thepreparedness pro-gram assistant inthe Warning andForecast Branch.She was the oneresponsible for en-suring all of theWarning Pre pared-ness Meteorologistshad the number of

p r e p a r e d n e s smaterials necessary to do their job. This included helpingthe severe weather and flash flood program leader createthe videos Terrible Tuesday and The AwesomePower.

Linda also helped develop ourpreparedness and spotter slide sets.Taking it further, she workedwith the newly designated WarningCoordination Meteorologists (WCMs)to develop our preparednessbrochures in partnership with theAmerican Red Cross and FEMA.

This led to a full suite of new colormaterials that have received praisefrom our partners and otherinternational weather services. In1994, Linda and those WCMshelping on the brochures wereawarded the Bronze Medal for theirwork. As evidence of success, the RedCross printed and distributed 22million of our preparednessbrochures in 2003, a feat we would

never have been able to accomplish ourselves.As part of the preparedness program, Linda was one

of the founding members of the National DisasterEducation Coalition (NDEC). Started in 1994 with theAmerican Red Cross and FEMA, the goal of NDEC is tocreate and deliver consistent preparedness informationto enhance response to warnings and extreme events.NDECs crowning achievement is: Talking AboutDisaster: Guide for Standard Messages. Linda was theNWS focal point for our contribution to the guide.

In later years, as the Warning and Forecast Branchevolved into the Customer Service Core and then thePerformance and Awareness Division, Linda was thestalwart staffer serving as the technical editor for

the NOAA Disaster Surveys, the new NWS ServiceAssessments, annual hazard statistics, the Aware Reportand all of the divisions policy documents andinstructions.

She also handled the logistics for fielding serviceassessment teams as well as each of the National WarningCoordination Meteorologists conferences and the lastNational Meteorologist in Charge/Hydrologist in Chargeconference. Finally, in her spare time, she served as theDivisions budget analyst.

Linda Kremkau left a footprint in the National WeatherService when she retired. Not just in headquarters, butwith each regional and field office as well as with each of

our partner organizations. She made a difference, she madethings better, she will be missed.

Linda welcomes emails from old friends. You can writeher at randlk@earthlink.net.

Footprints: Aware Managing Editor Linda Kremkau Leaves a Legacy

Climate, Water and Weather Links

MIC/WCM/SOO/DOH List: weather.gov/os/wcm-soo.pdfNWS Publications List: weather.gov/os/pubslist.htmNOAA Weather Radio Information: weather.gov/nwr/

Aviation Weather:aviationweather.noaa.gov/

Education/Outreach: weather.gov/os/edures.htmFlooding/Water: weather.gov/os/water/index.shtmlLightning Safety: www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/Marine Weather: weather.gov/os/marine/home.htmNatural Hazards Statistics: weather.gov/os/hazstats.shtmlPast Weather/Climate: lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.htmlStormReady Home Page: www.stormready.noaa.gov/Severe Weather Safety: weather.gov/os/severeweather/index.shtmlHurricane Safety: weather.gov/os/hurricane/index.shtmlCurrent Weather, NWS Home Page: weather.gov

Linda Kremkau is enjoyingretirement with husband Randy on abeach in Florida. No more cubicletan. Now she has a real one.