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| About This Page |
| The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in North Little Rock takes a lot of
pride in its work and what it has accomplished. |
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| There is a team of 25 dedicated employees that keep an eye on the sky,
collect data, keep the equipment running, and interact with people on the outside. Yes,
there is much more than just forecasting the weather. It is about serving and taking
care of the many needs of Arkansans. So let's meet the employees that make it all
happen... |
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| Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC)...Renee R. Fair
| This
individual oversees the office operations...and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
This involves interacting with other managers at the office to get a feel for what
is needed to better serve the citizens of Arkansas. The MIC also handles new hires
and evaluates the performance of staff members. E-Mail
the MIC |
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| Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM)...John F. Robinson
| This
individual is in-charge of the warning program at the office (i.e. warning information
that is sent to the public, verification of warnings, formatting warning information for
"Storm Data" publication). This includes interacting with emergency
managers in 45 counties across Arkansas to help create a plan of action when warnings are
issued. The WCM also teaches Storm Spotters courses (for upcoming classes,
click here) and is responsible for severe weather and
winter weather brochures that are distributed each year to emergency managers, county officials, schools
and the media. E-Mail the WCM |
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| Science and Operations Officer
(SOO)...Christopher Buonanno
| The Science and Operations Officer (SOO) works to integrate the latest advances in the science of
meteorology, as well as technology innovations, into everyday office operations. This individual will handle
technical issues at the office, including the development or request of training materials and utilizing computer
equipment/software to improve or enhance forecasts/warnings issued by forecasters. The SOO also organizes
training seminars and helps write (or offers suggestions on how to write) meteorological research papers
for publication. E-mail the SOO |
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| Observations Program Leader (OPL)...Jimmy W. Russell
| This
individual oversees data retrieval at the office. The data includes meteorological
and hydrological observations sent in by people and automatically by guages. The
OPL oversees the Cooperative Observer Program at the office...which is a network of
dedicated individuals mostly in rural areas that send the weather service temperature,
precipitation and river information on a daily basis. E-Mail
the OPL |
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| Information Technology Officer (ITO)...Daniel J. Koch
| This
individual writes and implements computer programs and troubleshoots existing programs.
The ITO also analyzes current systems in order to find where improvements could be made.
The improvements are related to product generation (i.e. making forecast products easier
to produce and more useful to the public) and dissemination. E-Mail
the ITO |
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| Service
Hydrologist...Steven W. Bays
| This
individual is in-charge of hydrological operations at the office. This includes
maintaining information (i.e. flood stages, degrees of flooding at various stages, etc)
about rivers and streams in Arkansas, issuing products such as flood forecasts/river flood
warnings, and keeping track of rainfall/soil conditions. E-Mail
the Service Hydrologist |
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| Senior
Forecaster
| This
individual is the shift supervisor [there are 3 shifts: day (7a to 3p), evening (3pm to
11p), and midnight (11p to 7a)] in the forecast area...and routinely issues
public/aviation forecasts and works the radar in severe weather when necessary. The
senior forecaster makes sure that weather service products such as forecasts and warnings
are issued in a timely fashion. The senior forecaster also makes shift decisions,
assigns duties, logs equipment outages, and keeps a log of events. There are 5 senior forecasters:
| Joseph
Goudsward |
Chuck Rickard |
| John A. Lewis III |
Brian D. Smith |
| Marty Trexler |
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| Journeyman
Forecaster
| This
individual, like the senior forecaster, routinely issues public/aviation forecasts and
works the radar when necessary. The journeyman forecaster also participates in
career development projects such as writing meteorological papers or developing weather
related computer programs (such as software that will improve shift operations).
There are 5 journeyman forecasters:
| Amie Browne |
Willie Gilmore |
| Tabitha Clarke |
Emilie Nipper |
| Lance Pyle |
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| Hydrometeorological
Technician (HMT)
| This
individual is mostly involved with data collection and dissemination. This would
include taking hourly weather observations, broadcasting on NOAA Weather Radio, and
launching radiosonde equipment (attached to weather balloons) twice daily (to measure
temperature, wind, and humidity aloft). The HMT also is heavily involved with the
Cooperative Observer Program...and routinely visits observers and repairs equipment used
for weather observations. There is 1 hydrometeorological
technician:
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| Meteorological
Intern
| This individual is in training to become a journeyman forecaster with the weather
service. The meteorological intern routinely performs the duties of an HMT while learning
and understanding weather service procedures. The meteorological intern occasionally
works at the public/aviation forecast desks to learn how to write forecast products.
The meteorological intern is also encouraged to participate in career development
projects such as writing meteorological papers or developing weather related computer
programs (such as software that will improve shift operations). There are
2 meteorological interns:
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| Electronics
Technician (ET)
| This
individual is mostly involved with maintaining systems inside and outside the
office. This would include computer equipment, NOAA Weather Radio, and new weather
service technology such as the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar)
and ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System). There are
3 ETs:
| Allen Adkins |
David M. Gross |
|
Gary Heifner |
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| Student
Intern/Volunteer
| This
individual, usually a college student in a meteorology program, is given the opportunity
to work in a professional setting at the weather service. The student intern/volunteer gets a
taste of most weather service operations, and helps out where needed. The idea is to
broaden the learning experience outside the classroom...and to explore career ideas before
school has ended. There is currently 1 student intern/volunteer:
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| Educational
Intern
| This individual has the
unique opportunity of learning about meteorology while at the
weather service to create lesson plans for the classroom. There
are currently no educational interns. |
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