- (EM/Supports)
As an Emergency Manager having this information literally in
the palm of my hand is critical. During the hurricane season and especially
when we are threatened, I speak with dozens of our political leaders. Now
before each session I can double check to be sure that my information is
current without returning to the office. Not to mention when my internet
services are down I have a backup to access this information.
- (EM/Supports)
(Note: Respondent sent in two comments counted as one combined
response, and a separate letter.)
I have sent you a letter concerning the WAP protocol on
International Association of Emergency Managers Stationary. However I don't
think the logo went with it. It explains my position. We need to keep any
and all notifications available to us for the protection of property and the
saving of lives. Max Mayfield and his staff are doing a wonderful job and
should be commended for the load they bear.
To all interested parties and agencies:
I want to thank anyone and everyone with this great idea that
will finally bring the so very important NHC/TPC advisories including
discussions and other information out to the general public in a way that
other means did not accomplish. To be able to bring NHC/TPC Tropical Cyclone
text advisories, aircraft reconnaissance messages, and TAFB text forecasts
and discussions to Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) capable cellphones
and Portable Digital Assistants (PDA) is a big step in the right direction
to fill the gap that emergency managers nation-wide struggle with in times
of threat from the "Tropical Terrorist", the tropical cyclone.
As someone that sees the need to be able to reach out with
emergency information that can affect the general public, this service
coming directly from the source is what I have struggled for many years. The
citizens pay taxes to the federal government and expect something back in
protection from disaster. This will become a great tool that can be used for
just that purpose. It doesn't need to be driven for profit but for the
common good of all. So many times in the past, private entities have cried
foul whenever they feel that the government has stepped on their fingers as
they reached for that dollar from the American public. In this case, it is
clear indeed that in times such as a threat from tropical cyclones, when the
National Tropical Prediction Center is issuing information that could save
human lives and personal property, there is a need for one common voice to
the public and that should come from the true experts, the forecasters and
support staff of the National Hurricane Center. By using this tool to reach
the threatened public, it is not doing anything out of the ordinary that the
NOAA Weather Radio has done for years, but now it's reaching those out of
ear shout of normal radio and TV.
Thanks again for a job well done.
This comment was also received by letter and is included as a
separate document.
(You may need to install the free
Acrobat® Reader to view the PDF document.)
- (EM/Supports)
Just discovered this capability. As an emergency manager
for a coastal county, the assured availability of NHC products is vital to
our mission. Mobile products will allow our staff greater flexible in
performing their myriad duties without being tied to a desktop system for
current tropical information. This service is certainly more cost effective
for us as opposed other means such as XM satellite radio. We are all
feeling budgetary pressures. I plan to take full advantage of this service.
Thank you for being so customer oriented.
- (EM/Supports)
I was manning the American Red Cross booth at the Florida
Governor's Hurricane Conference in Tampa, FL and I was conversing with the
NOAA folks about how much I love using the mobile tropical prediction center
page on my cell phone. They informed me that it may no longer be published
unless support like mine is heard.
Please, keep this service active. To stay on top of weather
alerts, I tend to use my cell phone a lot to receive emails, view web pages,
and such when I'm not at my office or access to a computer and internet are
limited.
I thank you for all of the products that NOAA offers for free
as it helps in our preparation efforts as well as helping to educate our
community.
- (Commercial Met/Supports)
I want to thank anyone and everyone with this great idea that
will finally bring the so very important NHC/TPC advisories including
discussions and other information out to the general public in a way that
other means did not accomplish. To be able to bring NHC/TPC Tropical
Cyclone text advisories, aircraft reconnaissance messages, and TAFB text
forecasts and discussions to Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) capable
cellphones and Portable Digital Assistants (PDA) is a big step in the right
direction to fill the gap that emergency managers nation-wide struggle with
in times of threat from the "Tropical Terrorist", the tropical cyclone.
As someone that sees the need to be able to reach out with
emergency information that can affect the general public, this service
coming directly from the source is what I have struggled for many years.
The citizens pay taxes to the federal government and expect something back
in protection from disaster. This will become a great tool that can be used
for just that purpose. It doesn't need to be driven for profit but for the
common good of all. So many times in the past, private entities have cried
foul whenever they feel that the government has stepped on their fingers as
they reached for that dollar from the American public. In this case, it is
clear indeed that in times such as a threat from tropical cyclones, when the
National Tropical Prediction Center is issuing information that could save
human lives and personal property, there is a need for one common voice to
the public and that should come from the true experts, the forecasters and
support staff of the National Hurricane Center. By using this tool to reach
the threatened public, it is not doing anything out of the ordinary that the
NOAA Weather Radio has done for years, but now it's reaching those out of
ear shout of normal radio and TV.
Thanks again for a job well done.
- (EM/Supports)
I recently obtained a BlackBerry device which has a WAP
browser. I find the WAP NHC product to be very usefull in my job as
Emergency Coordinator for Navy-Mars Region one (MA,CT,RI,NH,ME,and VT).
- (Other/Supports)
Just would like to let you know that I just recently purchased a cell phone that has the WAP
capability and checked out your site on it and it is wonderful to have. I am on the go a lot and
cannot always be behind a computer and this is perfect for me. Working in the public safety field
I find this a very convenient way of getting the latest tropical information. Thanks for a great
service.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestions)
I have a Samsung A500 Phone on the Sprint PCS network. I
have been viewing the NHC page on it for about the last 3 months. I find it
helpful in keeping track of tropical storms since I live in New Orleans.
Also, I am an engineer in the offshore oil industry and much of my work is
in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, I have a html browser installed on my phone and
I am able to view the NHC web site along with color graphics. Since my
screen size is only 1.8" in size, simple graphics are the most useful. Your
storm track graphic is good, except I am not able to view the text. It would
be helpful to keep the text simple and larger and keep the file size down to
about 4K. At this size, I am able to enlarge the image somewhat and scroll
around. A good example of graphics ideal for my phone is at the ccfp site,
http:/cdm.aviationweather.gov/ccfp/
I understand that the NHC has a service to send a warning
message to a wireless phone but I have not been able to find out about it on
your web site. My phone is short mail and email capable. Short mail gives
me the an audible message when a new message arrives and would be most
useful for this service.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestions)
I am currently looking for a free WAP enabled weather radar
site that I can use on Lake Erie to quickly see approaching storms. Please
advise ASAP on information on such a site if you know of one. I think this
capability along with marine weather statements over VHF/FM are a tremendous
asset to the marine community. Thank you.
- (Other/Supports)
I think it is absolutely excellent that you provide Hurricane
information on a WAP web page. I access it regularly during times of
Hurricane activity. There are times when a new advisory or update is
available, but I can't get to a computer for a variety of reasons, the
solution is to use my phone. I use Nextel as my wireless provider, and an
embedded openwave browser on my phone.
It seems, unlike HTML, that most sites do their best to hide
WAP URLs, or don't provide them at all. It is absolutely terrific that you
provide the information to all users, regardless of who their wireless
carrier may be.
Keep it up!
Is it possible to get limited low res graphics with newer
versions of the Openwave browser?
Thanks for extremely useful information, and an alternative
method of access. If there is any other more specific comments you were
looking for, don't hesitate to reply.
- (Commercial met/Supports)
I find the WAP products extremely useful. I don't really use
them for work purposes, but I find them extremely valuable during my
off-time!
- (Other/Supports)
The WAP service is awesome. I didn't know it existed until
just now. I logged on with my T-Mobile Motorola 720i. Great to have when I'm
not near a computer with internet access. I work in Mobile, AL in the
shipbuilding industry.
- (Other/Supports)
You guys are AWESOME! Thanks much for all the work you do
and for making this information available via wireless PDAs. It's reduced
my stress a great deal.
I live in Houston and own property in Galveston - I travel
almost weekly and after 9/11 I stopped dragging my laptop with me. Since
they're not very concerned about what might be brewing in the tropics in New
York City, I rely on my Palm to deliver the news. Your site provides
detailed, correct information that allows me to make decisions - as
necessary.
Here's hoping for another quiet year along the upper Texas
coast!
Keep up the great work.
- (Other/Supports)
I recently found your wap page of tropical weather info and
plan to use it frequently this coming hurricane season. As a boater who
lives aboard and uses the waters daily this will be a valuable and
convienent way to keep track of the weather situation while in coastal
waters. Thank you very much for providing this service.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
First, I think the site is a great idea and it loads very
nicely on my Samsung 8500.
Since you are accepting comments though, I've noticed that
neither the Tropical Weather Outlook nor the Tropical Weather Discussions
have refreshed since the first time I viewed either page on 12 June and 14
June respectively. The home page does refresh, however.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I just entered the URL in my phone (Motorola T720). Your
site seems to work OK so far, some text wrap issues, but loads quickly.
When there is an active storm, will I be able to see text only or some basic
images like radar/satellite imagery?
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
It's great that you are providing mobile access to the NHC
site. One suggestion, maybe experiment with adding some graphics to the
mobile site, especially a forecast track. Also, it would be great to
receive forecasts automatically as a text message to a mobile phone.
Thanks!
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I love WAP access to NHC products. Two comments; when I try
to access the product from the menu page, I often get a browser
message--unable to connect--and have to rerequest the product. My wireless
provider says it is likely the site, not the network. Also, a lot of the WAP
products are not updated--I tried to get today's 17:30 outlook statement
this evening, & the page was only updated to 6/9 11:30.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I have just tried your WAP site with my Handspring Treo
(using T-Mobile Internet as my ISP) and found the response time very fast
and the content sufficiently informative.
First impression is that I will rely on this WAP site
throughout the hurricane season - I am a west coast Florida resident and pay
close attention to tropical weather patterns.
Will there be graphic depictions of storm locations or will
this be primarily a text-only site? Either way I think this is an excellent
solution for WAP users.
Thanks & regards
- (Other/Supports)
Just wanted to send a short note saying that I really like
the WAP website you set up. It keeps me informed while I'm on the go. Keep
up the good work!
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
Thanks.. a friend sent this to me and I'm still amazed... I can read discussion in depth.. can even
get the link to recon, really amazing what you have done.
Don't know if you have graphics and I haven't found them.
Graphics meaning sats not logos.
Anyway, my feed back is its amazing.. thanks.
Have a Sony Ericsson and its a T 3 something.. I can't
remember.
Anyway, if you are going to put a link to sats in some form
please let me know.
Thanks... really thanks. Well.. not like you did it
personally..did you? Are you responsible for setting it up or maintaining,
just wondering.
Also.. do you work out at FIU or on Virginia Key.. let me
know please, I have a reason.
Anyway... take care and be well and be happy, happy
tracking... and I promise I don't ALWAYS sound so hyper.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I have been using the WAP web service since last years
hurricane season. I find it useful and easy to navigate. If you do change
anything, I would like to see forecast maps, tracking maps, strike
probabilities, ect. I know that these files would be large and WAP is
usually charged by bytes, but you could place a link on the WAP site to view
them if the user wants to. I would also be helpful if the site had the
tracking history or keep the previous 24 hour coordinates since I am not in
my office or at home it would be helpful if I can store the coordinates and
plot them on a map at a later time. The information is usually pressure,
winds and movement that I loose.
Thanks
- (Other/Supports)
Very nice, compact, to the point format. A very good way to
get very important, up to date information while on the go.
- (Other/Supports)
Hmmm, looks good to me :-)
Can't think of anyway to improve it, except, perhaps, reduce
the space between links on the home page. Tighten it up a little. If
possible.
Cheers
- (Other/Supports)
I am accessing the WAP site from a nextel handset. Works
great. Page breaks in the discussion sections are a little awkward, but I
can't imagine any better way to accomplish this. A great, clean,
easy-to-navigate site. I'm very glad you have it!
Thanks
- (Other/Supports)
As a user of the WAP version of the NHC web site i can safely
say i am very happy with the service. It is very useful when i am away from
the PC, but need to keep up to date with whats going on in the Atlantic. I
do think that the WAP site should be better advertised on the internet
version of the NHC site though, so as to attract more users
to its presence.
- (Broadcaster/Supports)
I just discovered the WAP versions of the TPC homepage. I
didn't know this option was available until I saw your request for feedback.
I had already bookmarked the individual graphic images, which are small on
my Treo PDA. But in a pinch they're better than nothing. I hope the WAP
version of the homepage is a permanent feature.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
It is useful that you are bringing storm information to the
wireless phones.
Most lay-people tracking storms are only interested in the
direction and wind velocity. Any manner in which that can be displayed in a
concise manner on a wap phone will get wide acceptance.
Let me make three suggestions.
1. For each storm on the home page, append the current
direction and velocity to the storm name e.g. TROPICAL DEPRESSION ANDRES
(WNW-16KNOTS). This will save having to follow the link in order to get
this key information.
2. For each storm on the home page add a link to a table of
predicted wind velocity for the next 72 hours. The data can be taken from
the 'wind speed forecast' chart. For example:
NOW - 16KT
12HR - 23KT
24HR - 35KT
36HR - 37KT
48HR - 40KT
72HR - 35KT
3. Finally (the real winner) for each storm on the home page,
a link to a WBMP graphic page showing a crude map of the disturbance area
and the track of the storm. I realize that there are severe limitations on
what can be done with wap graphics, however most people using this system
will most likely be familiar with the track of the storm already (TV and
Internet) and are interested in some visual feedback to determine if the
track of the storm is turning in their direction. As such, even the
simplest of graph (a single track line with labeled time dots) would be
extremely useful.
Again, thanks for creating this service and thanks for asking
for feedback.
Regards
- (Other/Supports)
Your site asked for feedback on the wireless acess you guys
offer. I have only been using it since you began issuing the Pacific
outlooks a few weeks ago, but I have found it very handy. I have a
sony/ericson GSM phone on the att network and it works great. I find this
service very helpful.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
Yes, there are some of us that use it. I usually access it
from my cell phone. I live in Tampa. On my pda, I usually access the full
version because I can display the sat. maps, etc nicely. Wish the main page
was better formatted for PocketPC’s tho.
- (Other/Supports)
I have used your WAP page for hurricane information
periodically over the past year and have found it to be very useful. All
the products have been updated and presented clearly. My phone is one of
the older first-generation text browsing phones and may not format pages as
nicely as a newer one. Please keep providing this service if possible!
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
It a very useful site for tracking tropical storms anywhere.
I recommend some improvement in graphics. Pcs vision enabled phones can
display full color graphics.
Thanks.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I just got a WAP cellphone and use iwindsurf.com now and will
try out your service as well. Hope I can get the bouy reports I'm looking
for...
Best
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
Hello. I'm just a storm tracker here is South Florida. Not a
boat captain or construction forman. I use a Sprint pda/cell phone to access
The National Hurricane Center (TPC... whatever) web site. When I do this, I
have to advance 4 pages (cell phone pages) just to get to the part under
"Active Tropical Systems" that says
Atlantic & Carribbean
Then after clicking on the link of an active storm below it,
the first cell phone page of that storm's data is a bunch of re-direct
links. Then page two usually begins the data. I can't remember EXACTLY how
the links are on your home page right now because I haven't seen an active
storm in 6 months. But the point is, I have to do too much "Next Page"
clicking on my pda to get to the storm data. And after each "Next Page"
click on a cell phone, as you may know, the phone Connects, sends, and then
recieves a new stream of data from the cell phone network. That usually
takes anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds.
Most users would probably like a quick link to "Public
Advisory" products for particular active storms. So maybe you can put a
small-font set of links at the very top of the html for the "Text Only" home
page. Might look like this...
Latest Public Advisory TD#5
Latest Public Advisory Claudette
Latest Public Advisory Danny
But it would have to be the very first line of html...
before any other links or text on the Text Only home page. Also, the html
page that is linked to any of the example links above, CAN'T have any
re-direct links (a menu) at the top of the html. So for example, the web
page that's linked to the link above for TD#5, has to start immediately at
the top with the Public Adv data with no links above it. Any links can go
AFTER the Advisory.
By the way, the addy I use in my cell phone/pda is...
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?text
Well, that's my 2 cents. Peace!
- (Other/Supports)
I have just bookmarked this on my cell phone. With the
upcoming season, and being part of my county's emergency response team, this
will come in handy at times. It's a nice WAP site, I've seen a lot worse.
Thanks,
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
So far so good. TWDAT is nice but can the header be reduce
any? I have a Samsung SPH-N400 phone on Sprint and the header takes up
almost the whole first page. Instead of:
000
AXNT20 KNHC 301739
TWDAT
TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
205 PM EDT FRI 30 MAY 2003
TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR NORTH AMERICA...CENTRAL
AMERICA...GULF OF MEXICO...CARIBBEAN SEA...AND ATLANTIC OCEAN
TO THE AFRICAN COAST FROM THE EQUATOR TO 32N INCLUDING NORTHERN
SECTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED
ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...WEATHER OBSERVATIONS...RADAR...AND
METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS.
BASED ON 1200 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH
1715 UTC.
000
AXNT20 KNHC 301739
TWDAT
1605Z 300503
BASED ON 1200Z SASI THRU 1715Z
SPECIAL FEATURES.. NONE
How about something short and sweet like the above? That
would save me about 5 minutes a day at least. When there is nothing special
that is all I need, If I see TWDAT I know the rest. If the is a problem put
a link in for the expanded header.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
Text only is boring..... :) If I wanted text I'd have gotten
a Palm.... :)
Actually, with Netfront 3.0 on my iPaq, it isn't bad. I
finally got the data cable for my iPaq to interface with the phone. Gotta
use up some of those unlimited data access on my Sprint Phone. I'll probably
view the pages on there more often than not. As a network engineer for
Citibank, we use your site as a "guide" of whether we need to consider COB
mode and as an indicator when we need/if we need to start flipping servers
to our "Cat 5 (in a flood zone) site..."
Is there any specific feedback you were looking for?
I personally wish the updates were more often than the
schedule you currently have. What was it last year? Every 4? 6? Hours?
But hey, I understand manpower issues as well as anyone.
Did you get a lot of feedback from that posting on the site,
or was I the only one to respond???? :)
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
(Note: Respondent sent in three comments, initially
identifying a minor problem in the mobile pages. All replies are counted as
one combined response.)
I just entered your URL on my Sanyo 8100 (using the Sprint
Vision network) with the NetForce 3.0 browser and the page came up fine.
Some sites are problematic with this browser - for example MSN mobile.
Reviewed the Atlantic forecast, reads OK. East Pacific forecast actually
split nicely into 2 pages.
The link to TAFB text Products came up _not found_ - looks
like a short link to /wap/index_tafb.wml - perhaps it needs to be fully
qualified. Similarly for the Aircraft Reconnaissance page. if these are
blank pages then a dummy page might be better than the page not found error
message.
Looking forward to the start of the new season this weekend.
How about sending specific alerts to phones? I realize that
you would need some sort of registration process to do it.
Regards.
No problem. You guys keep making great improvements to the
site year over year and I am pleased to be able to help out a little.
Regards,
Todd,
OK - you fixed it! All the links off the TAFB page
work OK - some have as many as 5 splits but I did not follow each one. RECON
works too but the TODAY link was NOT FOUND. TOMORROW was OK (but displayed
MAR. 23 data). Other links seemed OK. Site seems quick - not too many
people there right now I suppose.
The NOAA logo in color would be nice - and a storm track
graphic or sat picture capability would too. There are lots of color
screens out there now - so graphics are possible. I guess you are trying to
provide a reasonable download time though. Just in case you don't know -
sprintusers.com has some pretty good forums for Sprint Vision customers.
There are quite a few developers and Sprint techies there so if you had a
particular question about or problem with the Vision network it would be
a good place to go.
- (Other/Supports/Suggestion)
I think the WAP access is quite marginal in usefulness,
mostly because the WAP interface on most phones is so amazingly difficult to
use. I spent an hour with my phone and finally got it to give me the
standard hurricane text message. I can't image that a busy local sheriff or
other official who needed the information would bother with such difficult
process. It might be much better to just send short text messages to the
phones of those who need to know. This is reliable and usually easy to use
on most phones. One could imagine that anybody who needed to get the text
messages would email to a server and the messages would automatically be
sent. I think this would work much better.
Please refer all questions and comments to the TPC Office of Public Relations:
Mr. Frank Lepore
NOAA Public Affairs Officer
National Hurricane Center
Tropical Prediction Center
Frank.C.Lepore@noaa.gov
(305) 229-4404