NWS Focus

May 4, 2007

CONTENTS - NWS Weather Observer Places Third in the First StormReady Iditarod Race - Does Spring Mean Not Having to Spend the Night? - CoCoRaHS visits NWS Headquarters - NWR Transmitter and West Texas Mesonet Station Dedicated in Childress, TX - First Midwest Bow Echo Workshop Held in Kentucky - Iowa Governor Recognizes NWS for Performance Excellence - Shreveport Office is First to Complete Winter Weather AWOC Training - Lawrence Cedrone Awarded 2006 Max A. Kohler Award - Employee Milestones - Snapshots

One cold January morning on her way to work, Brenda Brock, Meteorologist-In-Charge of the Des Moines, IA, forecast office, took this photo of a "sun dog" behind the NWS Central Iowa radar tower. A sun dog, or "mock" sun, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon produced by the refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals in clouds. Click here for a look at another photo. (Photo by Brenda Brock, NWS)

click here to view the latest coin recipients

To recognize excellence, Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Director of the National Weather Service, awards special "Director's Coins" to employees. The Director's Coins, bear the NWS emblem on one side with the NOAA logo on the reverse. Director's Coins are awarded to individuals whose demonstrated excellence place them in the top 10 percent of unit performers...truly designating the best of the best. Local/regional unit supervisors are traditionally consulted, but an on-the-spot award is not unheard of.

Gen J strictly adheres to the 10 percent standard so the recipients are select top performers. The coin inscription reads: "Awarded by the Director of the National Weather Service for Excellence." Employees on the list are those who have earned coins for their outstanding work. Add a bookmark for this page to your browser--we will update the list from time to time.

NWS Weather Observer Places Third in the First StormReady Iditarod Race

Zack Steer, an NWS A-Paid Observer, placed third amongst the 80 mushers who started the 2007 Iditarod on March 4.

Zack Steer, an NWS observer, placed third amongst the 80 mushers who started the 2007 Iditarod, called the "last great race on Earth."

Alaska's 2007 Iditarod Trail sled dog race is often called "The Last Great Race on Earth." From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1,150 miles in 10 to 17 days.

Since February 2000, Zack has provided weather information several times a day from Sheep Mountain Lodge, assisting the NWS in developing and validating forecasts.

As a top musher, Zack appreciates the value of accurate forecasts and preparing to endure severe weather occurrences. "It was a challenging race this year. It seemed there was a constant headwind the first week of the race and temperatures were extremely cold through the Alaska Range and Yukon River. Compounded by the fact that there were many miles of snowless trail, the race shaped up to be one of the hardest ever."

This year, NWS partnered with the Iditarod Trail Committee to increase awareness of the value of community preparedness for severe weather events. As a result, for the first time, mushers raced through four trail communities carrying the StormReady distinction. Nine Alaskan communities are StormReady, and four of these have also earned the TsunamiReady distinctions. Eight more are expected to earn similar distinctions by the end of the year. The four newly-designated StormReady communities along this year's Iditarod trail are Anchorage, Wasilla, McGrath, and Nome.

NOAA's National Weather Service is extremely proud of Zack Steer's contribution toward keeping Alaskans safe and congratulates him on a remarkable Iditarod performance.

General Johnson was in Anchorage for the start of the 2007 Iditarod. Click here to see photos of his visit to Alaska.

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Does Spring Mean Not Having to Spend the Night?

Nearing the end of one of the most active winter weather seasons in some time, staffs at several Central Region Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) are probably glad to contemplate easier drives to work. From blizzard conditions just before last Christmas in western parts of the region to February's repeat in the northern plains, Central Region employees were forced to battle sometimes impossible travel conditions to get to work.

Cheyenne, WY, Hydrometeorological Technician (HMT) Dan Deal was one of the first to exhibit near-Herculean efforts to make sure he was in the office for his scheduled shift in the pre-Christmas blizzard. Doing it the old fashioned way, Dan strapped on his snow shoes and trekked more than a mile from his home to the WFO, arriving in time to work his full shift.

Milwaukee, WI, Meteorologist-In-Charge (MIC) Ken Rizzo may have set the stage for a post-NWS career when he established Camp MKX for employees stranded in the office overnight by dangerous December weather conditions. Turning the conference room into a dormitory, Ken made sure staffers had a place to sleep if they didn't want to risk the trip home. Ken said evening and midnight shifts made it to the office just fine but everyone ended up spending the night.

A few staff members also roughed it on cots at WFO Central Illinois during the Dec. 12-14 storm there, according to MIC Ernie Goetsch, who said two staffers spent 40 straight hours at the office. Three other staffers spent one night and three wound up stuck in snow drifts trying to make it in.

At WFO La Crosse, WI, shift supervisors stayed in touch with county personnel to ensure frequent plowing of the road to the office that was frequently blown over with 3-5 foot drifts, according to MIC Glenn Lussky. Glenn commended Electronic Systems Analyst Mike Struver for using his four-wheel drive vehicle as an emergency shuttle for staff unable to make it up the hill. Due to limited visibility, Mike made the 5-mile trip traveling 5-10 mph.

Quad Cities, IA, MIC Steve Kuhl got to work a double shift when one of the lead forecasters couldn't get to the office because of extreme icy conditions and closed roads. Several forecasters and Electronic Technicians put in overtime to handle workload and restore multiple ASOS outages. Power outages took out all Quad Cities telephone communications and Steve was highly complimentary of WFOs LA Crosse and Des Moines for providing full service back-up with no advance notice.

Des Moines, IA, MIC Brenda Brock said several staff members put in overtime and ETs were kept busy clearing ASOS outages from home. Brenda said travel was treacherous, but roads remained open and employees were able to get to work.

WFO Sioux Falls, WY, needed just a little overtime to cover numerous conference calls, media interviews, and road briefings.

MIC Gary Austin said HMT Scott Cultice arrived at midnight to beat the heavy snow and ensure he was on hand for the 5 a.m. balloon launch, then ended up staying a couple of hours extra to assist operations. MIT Steve Fleegel, who lives close to the office, came in on his day off to assist the staff and be on hand if needed for the 5 p.m. balloon launch. WCM Jeff Last was able to update news stories and storm reports from home.

Some other MICs reported "nothing big" in the way of contending with the storms, but made note of an employee or two who changed hours for extra shifts to be on hand to help work the events.

"Most offices have plans to ensure staffing, food and other creature comforts during severe winter weather events and MICs are quick to put them into operation," Central Region Director Lynn Maximuk said. "While field managers have to make sure they have enough people to work a storm, they also have to be sure we follow our own advice to the public not to take chances in dangerous conditions.

"The teamwork and concern for co-workers is so common to field operations, we sometimes forget to commend people for their extra efforts and sacrifice."

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CoCoRaHS visits NWS Headquarters

CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, a citizen participation program hosted by Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, is a recent recipient of a NOAA Office of Education Environmental Literacy Grant. Through this grant, CoCoRaHS will be working with NWS and other NOAA partners to invite thousands of citizens of all ages and backgrounds to help measure rain, hail, and snow in backyards across the country.

Nolan Doesken, State Climatologist from Colorado, and Henry Reges, National Coordinator for CoCoRaHS, recently met with NWS Director Gen. D.L. Johnson to provide an update on plans and opportunities to supplement existing NWS precipitation measurement networks while also enhancing public education and outreach.

Nolan Doesken (left), CoCoRaHS National Director, and Henry Reges (right), CoCoRaHS National Coordinator, present General Johnson with a CoCoRaHS shirt during their visit to NWS Headquarters on February 20.

The process takes only five minutes a day, but the impact to the community is tenfold: data gathered by volunteers provides important daily decision-making information on drought and water supply for agricultural and insurance industries, utility providers, resource managers, teachers, scientists, and homeowners.

Many NWS forecast offices are volunteering to help extend CoCoRaHS to their areas. As of March 2007, seventeen states are currently participating in CoCoRaHS and several more states are making plans to join the network.

In Indiana, timely reports of hail from CoCoRaHS observers regularly assist forecasters in issuing and verifying warnings for severe thunderstorms, said Logan Johnson, Forecaster at the Indianapolis forecast office. Logan is his office's CoCoRaHS focal point and has been actively involved since becoming an NWS Intern at the Goodland, KS, forecast office.

"Its greatest benefit is how the large group of new observers really enhances the existing networks and programs already in place," said Johnson. "It has also helped our agency as a whole with the idea of fostering community education in science and has allowed us to become better in touch with the communities that make up the Indianapolis Forecast Area."

CoCoRaHS was first started nearly 10 years ago in northern Colorado after a small but very intense storm dropped over 14" of rain over small portions of Fort Collins, Colorado resulting in 5 fatalities and over $200 million in damages, especially to the campus of Colorado State University.

Since that time, the Colorado Climate Center along with local NWS forecast offices, private meteorologists, local utilities, agricultural organizations, and other groups have been working together to better involve the public in weather and climate monitoring while increasing weather awareness and improving data availability. All data collected by citizen volunteers are available to the NWS and to the public at http://www.cocorahs.org.

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NWR Transmitter and West Texas Mesonet Station Dedicated in Childress, TX

by Brian LaMarre
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Lubbock, TX

On January 23, 2007, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Lubbock met with officials from Childress, TX, to conduct a dedication ceremony for the new NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) transmitter. The ceremony was also a joint effort, held with Texas Tech University (TTU), to dedicate the 50th weather observing and reporting station of TTU's West Texas Mesonet (WTM).

The NWR transmitter began broadcasting 24/7 coverage of weather information on December 14, 2006, to customers and partners across portions of the Texas Panhandle and southwest Oklahoma.

Representatives from WFO's Lubbock and Amarillo, TX, and WFO Norman, OK, were joined by city, county and state elected officials, emergency response officials, KFDA News Channel 10 in Amarillo, as well as nearly fifty members from communities across the NWR Childress coverage area.

Bill Ricks, Director of Emergency Management for the City of Childress, mentioned "We are so appreciative to be working with the team of professionals at the NWS in Lubbock in bringing these life-saving broadcasts to the area; they have been a tremendous help throughout this effort and we look forward to our continued relationship with them."

Childress County Judge Jay Mayden served as emcee for the ceremony and introduced Jennifer Foster, District Director from Senator Robert Duncan's Childress Office; Cary Preston, Childress Mayor; Justin Weaver, WFO Lubbock Meteorologist-in-Charge; and "Doppler" Dave Oliver, KFDA Amarillo Chief Meteorologist who all spoke on the benefits of NWR and recognized key individuals in reaching this milestone.

Judge Mayden also introduced Brian LaMarre, WFO Lubbock Warning Coordination Meteorologist, and Wes Burgett, Manager of the TTU WTM who provided presentations on NWR, weather preparedness and awareness efforts; and a history of the WTM program, respectively.

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First Midwest Bow Echo Workshop Held in Kentucky

On February 28 and March 1, 2007, the University of Louisville's Rauch Planetarium hosted the first-ever Midwest Bow Echo Workshop.

The event was organized by Angela Lese (NWS Louisville forecaster), and was partially funded by NWS Central Region Headquarters and the Arts and Sciences Department of the University of Louisville. The Rauch Planetarium provided a unique environment for NWS meteorologists, the research community, university personnel, and broadcast meteorologists to come together and discuss the newest findings on bow echoes and implement this into operations, while applying the best warning practices. Recent studies have shown that quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs) cause nearly as much severe weather as supercells do within the Midwest and lower Ohio Valley. This research led to the formation of the Midwest Bow Echo Workshop, where a new awareness for QLCSs was established.

Roughly 95 people attended the workshop, including Pete Browning (NWS Central Region Headquarters), Steve Weiss (Storm Prediction Center), and other notables such as Dr. Morris Weisman (National Center for Atmospheric Research, the keynote speaker), Ron Przybylinski (NWS St. Louis, MO), Dr. Jeff Trapp (Purdue University), Dr. Nolan Atkins (Lyndon State College), and Ray Wolf (NWS Davenport, IA) to name a few.

All talks from the workshop are available on the conference web site.

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Iowa Governor Recognizes NWS for Performance Excellence

On February 22, the Quad Cities, IA, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) was recognized at the Iowa Governor's Recognition of Performance Excellence Celebration in Des Moines, IA, for demonstrating organizational leadership by applying National Baldrige Quality Principles at their office.

Steve Kuhl, MIC (holding certificate) and Terry Simmons, DAPM (behind Steve to the right) are presented with a certificate by Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge for demonstrating organizational leadership toward performance excellence in the State of Iowa. Also pictured is Gary Nesteby, Director of the Iowa Quality Center.

Aligned with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence recognizes businesses and organizations in Iowa that perform a strenuous review and evaluation of leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, resource focus, workforce focus, process management, and business results. WFO Quad Cities is the first federal government agency in Iowa to apply for recognition.

Steve Kuhl, WFO Quad Cities Meteorologist-In-Charge, said "We are honored the Governor has provided us this recognition. Applying Baldrige quality principles has enabled our office to improve many of our internal processes, which has led to improved products and services for our key stakeholders and customers. My hope is that WFOs across the country will begin to use more of these quality principles."

Other organizations honored for their commitment to performance excellence include: John Deere Credit; The HON Company - Oak Steel Plant; Facilities Planning and Management, Iowa State University; Great River Medical Center; St Luke's Hospital; Cedar Rapids Community School District; Eaton Corporation; Hearth & Home Technologies; and Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center.

For more information about the Baldrige Quality Program visit the National Institute of Standards and Technology web site. Information about Baldrige-based organizations in 39 states is available on the Alliance for Performance Excellence web site.

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NWS Forecast Office at Shreveport is First Office to Achieve 100% Completion of Winter Weather AWOC Training

The Warning Decision Training Branch (WDTB) recognized the NWS Forecast Office in Shreveport, Louisiana for the distinction of being the first office in the NWS to complete the entire Advanced Warning Operations Course (AWOC) Winter Weather Track (AWWT). The AWWT is a blended learning course comprised of 20 to 25 hours of online instruction and Weather Event Simulator (WES) simulations. The AWWT addresses mission critical job knowledge, tasks and skills supporting winter weather warning decision making. Instruction in the AWWT includes topics on forecast collaboration, user needs, climatology, forcing mechanisms, ensembles, snow production, precipitation-type forecasting, and monitoring storm evolution.

Approximately 1300 NWS forecasters completed all required training in the AWWT from June 2006 through February 2007.

The management and staff of WFO Shreveport reported to WDTB that three key elements were used to effectively implement the AWWT training in their office: 1) complete management support, 2) a "partnering learning environment", and 3) inter-office competition. Science and Operations Officer (SOO) Ken Falk reported that the "support from the Meteorologist-In-Charge (MIC) in establishing clear priorities such as allowing each forecaster to receive dedicated training time to complete the course and monitoring the progress of each participant" were critical actions in achieving the goal. "The entire staff got behind the effort to complete the course before the start of the fall severe weather season and we encouraged folks to complete the training in pairs, to help the learning and application process," stated MIC Armando Garza.

The WDTB will continue to update the AWWT for the next offering of the Course in late summer of 2007. For more information or questions about the AWWT, please contact Brad Grant.

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Lawrence Cedrone Awarded 2006 Max A. Kohler Award

by Larry Wenzel
Hydrologic Services Division

Lawrence (Larry) Cedrone, the steady and innovative hand behind the Hydrometeorological Automated Data System (HADS) Program for 17 years, has been recognized by his peers with the 2006 Max A. Kohler Award. The Max Kohler Award is presented annually to honor individuals for sustained superior performance and distinguished accomplishments in support of the NWS Hydrology Program.

Larry Cedrone, on the roof of NWS Headquarters, stands in front of the HADS DOMSAT receiver and dish.

"Larry is completely dedicated to the success and evolution of HADS for the reliable delivery of observation data to NWS field offices. He leads a team that routinely goes beyond normal expectations to minimize data delivery interruptions," stated Jon Roe, Hydrologic Software Engineering Branch Chief in the Office of Hydrologic Development.

Data, and lots of it, pass through Larry's oversight. Each day, the HADS delivers over two million surface observations to NWS field operations. The data are critical for issuing hydrologic forecasts and warnings which contribute to saving lives, reducing property damage, or increasing economic productivity.

The number of Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) whose data are routinely delivered to NWS operations has risen from approximately 3,500 sites in 1990 to nearly 12,500 at the beginning of 2007. The data comprise 70-90 percent of point surface data used by River Forecast Centers.

Larry has spent more than 30 years in the National Weather Service, including the last 17 as program manager for HADS. Utilizing his strong work ethic and keen attention to detail, Larry has successfully managed the development, implementation, and operation of HADS representing data from over 400 International, Federal, State, Local and private agencies who own and operate DCPs. While he has provided outstanding technical leadership in the development and operation of HADS, Larry's leadership and development of a highly skilled and professional "HADS Team" committed to support of field operations ranks equally.

The HADS team is consistently cited by staff at field offices for their responsiveness. Larry also represents the NWS on the Satellite Telemetry Interagency Working Group and its Technical Working Group. Over the years he has cultivated excellent partnerships with numerous local and federal agencies involved with hydrologic and meteorological observational data networks.

When asked about his proudest moment, Larry responded, "I'm most proud of working with my team to lead the transitions in technology and processes that have enabled us to reduce data latency from several hours, to today's measure of less than 3 minutes while constructing a system that is extremely reliable and efficient. What satisfies me the most are the interactions I have with the hydrology program managers in the field offices. I've developed friendships with many, many people across the country."

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Employee Milestones

• Click here to see NEW APPOINTMENTS/TRANSFERS to NWS through March 31, 2007.
• Click here to see RETIREMENTS/DEPARTURES from NWS through March 31, 2007.
• Click here to see NWS EMPLOYEES ACCOMPLISHMENTS through March 31, 2007.

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Snapshots

Click here for a look at photos we've received from around the NWS.