ARMANDO GARZA TO OVERSEE NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN SHREVEPORT, LA.

Veteran meteorologist Armando Garza has been appointed meteorologist-in-charge of the NOAA National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Shreveport, La. Garza replaces Milton Harrison who retired in July. The Weather Forecast Office in Shreveport is one of 122 National Weather Service Forecast Offices in the nation and one of 32 serving in the Southern Region.

“A meteorologist-in-charge is the front line officer carrying out the National Weather Service’s mission of serving the American public by helping protect lives and property,” said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “We are honored to have Armando Garza serving in this important role.”

Garza began his National Weather Service career as an intern at the Weather Forecast Office in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1972. He served as the warning coordination meteorologist in Memphis, Tenn., in 1975 before assuming the focal point duties of satellite, marine and hurricane programs in San Juan, Puerto Rico the following year. Two years later, Garza moved to the Center Weather Service Unit in Houston to support the Federal Aviation Administration Air Route Traffic Control Center.

His next move was to New Orleans Weather Forecast Office where he served as a forecaster (1979 to 1986) until joining Southern Region Headquarters as the regional aviation meteorologist. Garza transferred to Honolulu in 1993 to become the office’s science and operations officer. He was appointed as the meteorologist-in-charge in San Diego in 1995 and supervised the office until 2001 when he became the meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service office at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. He left the Academy to serve as meteorologist-in-charge in Corpus Christi, Texas in 2003.

“With more than three decades of service to the National Weather Service, Armando Garza has served with distinction in numerous offices throughout the nation - allowing him to gain experience with practically every type of severe weather condition,” said Bill Proenza, director, National Weather Service Southern Region. “His extensive experience and leadership ability is a winning combination that will help provide the best possible service to all of the citizens in the office’s warning area.”

Garza received numerous awards throughout his career, including awards for his support of the National Weather Service modernization program of the early 1990s. He received a Special Act Award (1995) for leadership on Hawaii, a U.S. Commerce Department Bronze Medal recognizing the work of the San Diego office during the 1997-98 El Niño and a NOAA Administrator’s Award (2001) for his work in developing a dual language video entitled: “Flood Warning Systems - Saving Lives and Property.”

In 2002, Garza received the National Weather Service Southern Region Aviation Weather Services Excellence Award as well as the National Aviation Service Branch Award. He also received a second NOAA Administrator’s Award (2003) for his work in improving aviation services to pilots.

He has authored numerous professional papers presented at professional meetings and conferences throughout the United States and at international conferences in Australia, Argentina and Mexico.

A native of Brownsville, Texas, Garza earned his Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from Texas A&M University in 1971. Awarded a University Assignment, he returned to Texas A&M to earn his master’s degree in meteorology (1984). Garza and his wife enjoy traveling and spending time with their four children and seven grandchildren.

NOAA's National Weather Service is the official source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

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