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Spot
Requestor Instructions
NWS
Amarillo, Texas
You
can request spot forecasts via our spot forecast page located at...
http://spot.nws.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/spot/spotmon?site=ama
This
site can be easily reached from the fire weather page on our main
website at...
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/fire_weather/
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Both
of these sites will also be available from the SWCC Intelligence page.
The
main spot forecast page updates every minute and shows you the location
and status of any spot forecasts that have already been requested
for today. You can view these other forecasts, as well as request
a new spot forecast of your own.
Each
request has its own webpage where all the information about that
request is displayed, including maps, information about the request
and, eventually, the forecast. Sensitive information about the request
(such as phone numbers, names of contact persons, and the exact
location of the burn) are NOT visible by everyone - but only on
the computer that made the original request and NWS computers.
When
you request a new spot forecast, you provide information in a web-based
form that is similar to the D-1 form that you are probably used
to using. The information you provide on the form is checked for
consistency, and after you complete the form, the NWS is notified
of a new request and a new webpage is created for this burn.
Once
you have submitted a request, you will probably want to view the
webpage for your burn - or check back frequently to view it's status.
To view the webpage for any burn or wildfire, go to the main spot
forecast webpage, click either on the name of the burn in the listing,
or on the dot on the map for the burn. This page will also automatically
update every minute so that when new information becomes available,
you will see it right away. If we find any errors in your request,
we might even send you a question that will show up on this page.
You can answer the question, or make other changes to your request
from this webpage, but ONLY from the computer that made the original
request. Since the forecast screen is automatically updated very
minute, you will see the forecast within a minute of it being issued.
When
the forecast is complete, you can print the webpage, or do whatever
you want with the information. From the main spot forecast page,
you have the ability to switch to a similar screen for days other
than today. You can use this to send us feedback on earlier forecasts,
or to copy the information from one request to a new request for
today.
If
you have any questions or problems, we are still available by phone.
Please consult the ops plan or mob guide for our phone number.
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Spot
Forecast Monitor
The
main spot forecast monitoring page shows you all of today's spot
forecasts on the map and also in the list at the bottom of the page.
This
page auto-updates every minute, so as new spot forecasts are requested
or their status changes, you immediately see the changes on the
page.
The
dots on the map show the locations of the burns, and the status
of the spot forecast requests. Green squares indicate requests that
are still pending. Purple squares indicate burns where questions
have been asked. Red squares indicate burns where the forecast has
been completed. You can either click on the dots on the map, or
the list of spot names at the bottom of the page to view the individual
webpage for each request.
You
can use the arrow buttons next to the date to view spot requests
from other days, or you can use the "CALENDAR" link to
move to other days more quickly.
To
request a spot forecast, click on the button labeled "Submit
a new Spot Request", and you will be taken to the Spot Request
Form.
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Spot
Request Form
You
fill in this form with the information needed to request a spot
forecast.
The
first time you fill out a spot request, almost all the boxes will
be empty. After that, many of the boxes will be filled in with information
that shouldn't change very much from one request to another (such
as your name and phone number).
The
elements highlighted in red are required for us to complete your
spot forecast. While the other items may not be necessary, they
are very important to our ability to make an accurate and useful
forecast.
The
form is broken down into seven sections. Lets look at each section
individually, and the parameters you will need to fill in:
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Project
Name Section
You need to provide a name for your project. The name cannot be
the same as any other project for the same day - and you will be
alerted if you pick a name the same as an existing burn.
You
should use the buttons to indicate whether the fire is a Wildfire,
WFU or Prescribed Fire (Prescribed fire is chosen by default when
you enter the form). For prescribed fires, you should indicate the
ignition time and date using a 24 hour clock (and the time zone
if necessary). The form defaults to an ignition time about ½
hour in the future.
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Requesting
Agency Section
You
need to tell us who you are! Here you provide your agency name,
your phone number for both voice and fax (please include the area
code) and your name. All this information will be helpful to us
if there are problems or questions and we need to contact you. You
will only need to enter this information the first time you request
a spot forecast. After that, it will be filled in with the same
information as your last request.
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Location
Section
In
this section you tell us the precise location of the burn. You can
either specify the legal location or the latitude/longitude. If
you use the legal method, you should provide something like: T5N
R12E Sec24. If you use the latitude/longitude method, you can either
specify degrees like: 45.1486 or degrees/minutes/seconds like: 45
13 34.
If
you can, please specify the name of the 7 ½ minute USGS quadmap
where the burn is located. We will check that against the legal
or lat/lon location that you give. The elevation (in feet) at the
top and bottom of the burn should be entered in the "Elevation"
boxes. If the burn is on flat ground, you can enter a value in only
one of the boxes. Enter the name of the nearest drainage in the
"Drainage" box. This helps us further locate the burn
when the legal or lat/lon location still leaves some ambiguity.
Enter the slope aspect, such as NE or S (or possibly FLAT) in the
"Aspect" box. This helps us further locate the burn. Also,
please enter the size of the burn (in acres) in the "Size"
box.
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Fuel
Section
Please
indicate the type of fuel, either using fuel model numbers, or a
description of the fuel such as "grass", "ponderosa
pine", etc. Also, if you can indicate the amount of fuel sheltering,
it helps us tremendously in providing accurate wind forecasts.
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Observation
Section
In
this section you provide us with local observations near the burn.
For each observation we need where it is in relation to the burn
(for example, "base camp", "1 mile NW" or something
like that), the elevation (in feet) and the time (preferably using
a 24 hour clock). The wind (in miles per hour) can be specified
as "N12 Gust 25" or something like that. The temperature
and wet-bulb values (in degrees F) should be entered and the RH
(in percent) and Dewpoint (in degrees F) can also be entered if
known (they will be calculated from the Temperature/Wet-bulb/Elevation
if you do not provide them). Finally, any remarks about clouds,
weather or other important information should be entered in the
final box. If you have more than 4 observations (and we like that!)
please put them in the comments section below (or fax them to us!).
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Forecast
Elements Section
Not
all spot requests are created equal! In this section we are asking
you to tell us what are the forecast elements you need, or are particularly
important. If you have a grass fire that will be out by later today,
we don't want to waste time worrying about the temperature for tomorrow,
unless you really need it. Likewise, if the wind direction is particularly
important for you, we want to know about it. Pick the parameters
that you need for today, tonight and tomorrow. If we think something
is particularly noteworthy, we will let you know - even if you didn't
request it. If you are submitting a request in the evening for the
next day - keep in mind that you are requesting parameters for the
day of the burn. For wildfires, we will provide all parameters (except
smoke dispersion), so you do not need to waste time filling this
in, unless you have a parameter that is particularly critical for
you (in which case, this is a good place to indicate that).
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Comments
Section
If
there is something else that you think we need to know, or something
you couldn't fit elsewhere on the form, please enter it here. There
is virtually no limit to what you can put here.
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Submit
the form
When
you are ready to submit the form, just click on the "Submit
Request" button at the bottom of the page. If you want to cancel
the request you can click on the "Cancel Request" button,
and if you want to clear the form and start over again, you can
click on the "Clear Form" button.
When
you submit the form, various checks are performed on the data you
have entered. Some problems make it impossible for your request
to be accepted (for example, if you forget to enter a name for the
burn), which other will produce warnings and messages for your information.
If an error is found, you will be given the opportunity to go back
and fix the form, or cancel the request. Once you are confident
there are no more errors in your request, it will be submitted and
we will be automatically notified through our computer systems.
If you have the time, we appreciate it if you could still call us,
just in case something goes wrong on the web and we don't get notified
of your request.
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Spot
Forecast Webpage
After
you have submitted a spot forecast request, an individualized spot
forecast webpage becomes available for that burn. This page automatically
updates every minute so that as new information becomes available
for the burn, you see it immediately. Detailed maps of the area
around the burn are generated and displayed when they become available.
Keep in mind that "sensitive" information like your name,
phone number, and the exact location of the burn are NOT visible
to others - only to you and the NWS.
If
we have questions about your request, we may send you back a question
about it. If this happens, you will see a big red box in the forecast
page, with our question. Usually, there is some problem with the
request that you can probably fix (use the links at the bottom of
the page to change the request) or you can call us.
When
your forecast is complete, it will show up in the spot forecast
webpage automatically, and a box to provide feedback will become
available. We hope that you can provide us feedback with how the
forecast worked out, perhaps later in the day or several days down
the road. This feedback helps us tremendously in improving our forecasts.
At
the bottom of the forecast page are links for actions that you can
take. For example, you can go "Back to Spot List" to return
to the monitor page. If you are at the same computer that made the
original request, you can click on "Change Request" to
change the details of your request, or "Delete Request"
to delete the request.
You
can also click on "Copy Info to New Spot Request". This
is helpful for burns that last over several days. Rather than having
to re-enter the data in the form in order to get a new forecast
- you can view the previous forecast and then copy all the location
parameters to a new request using this link. This will save you
some time when filling out the request form.
Invariably,
something will go wrong at some point, and you might not be able
to request or receive spot requests via the webpage (for example,
your computers might go down, or our web server may fail). In such
cases, we would like you fill out the paper version of the request
form (as it appears on the next page) and fax it to us. We will
fax you back the forecast when it is complete. Please keep in mind
that this should be used as a last resort. Spot Forecast Requests
received via the webpage will be completed more quickly.
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