NOAA and the Indian Ocean Tsunami

NOAA scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii went to work within minutes of getting a seismic signal that an earthquake occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on Christmas day 2004. NOAA issued a bulletin indicating no threat of a tsunami to Hawaii, the West Coast of North America or to other coasts in the Pacific Basin-the area served by the existing tsunami warning system established by the Pacific rim countries and operated by NOAA in Hawaii.

Read more details in the NOAA news story here. The TsunamiReady program is detailed here.

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Second National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference Filled with Passion

Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), NWS Director, speaks to participants at the Second National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference. Photo by Tom Dietrich, NWS Hydrologic Services Division.

Passion was the unofficial theme of the Second Biennial National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference convened in New Orleans, December 6-10, 2004. Passion for the hydrologic program was mentioned by several speakers and it was evident by the enthusiasm of the conference participants. The conference agenda was packed with topics relevant to field forecasters.

Keynote speaker, Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), NWS Director, opened the session on Tuesday and also talked about the passion of the NWS hydrologists. He recognized the work performed by the National Weather Service's hydrologic community when he said, "You do great things for America."

Johnson emphasized that NOAA's leadership is focused on water in all components of the hydrologic cycle.

"The new tools needed to do your job better are coming through the implementation of AHPS," Johnson said. He stressed seeing AHPS through to its full implementation across the Nation.

Glenn Austin and Tom Graziano of the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, Hydrologic Services Division served as the conference hosts. Gary Carter, Director of the Office of Hydrologic Development and NOAA Hydrology Program Manager, provided a strategic vision for the program to improve services.

The NWS hydrologic community works hard to build and maintain coalitions with its partners to meet America's hydrologic forecast and warning needs. This was evident by the cadre of guest speakers from outside the agency including: Greg Forbes, The Weather Channel; Jim Block, of Meteorologix; Sheri Teodoru, Claes Fornell International; Steve Blanchard, U.S. Geological Survey; Kelly Bronowicz, FEMA; Jerry Webb, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Steve Waters, Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Arizona; and Mike Sprague, Office of Emergency Services, Steuben County, NY.

"Customer feedback is important," wrote Peter Jung of State College, PA, in his comments after the conference. "Having some of our customers here was great!"

Jim Bagnola, from The Leadership Group, presented a stimulating presentation called, "Who Do You Really Work For Anyway? Turning Customers into Long-Term Followers." Lectures, video clips, and group activities were used to highlight the importance of meeting and satisfying the needs of our customers.

On Wednesday evening, the conference included a two and a half hour poster session focusing on "Sharing Best Practices." More than 50 posters were exhibited. Regional breakout sessions complimented the week on Thursday afternoon and early Friday.

"The thing I will walk away with is the importance of team work and the mission of best serving the public. As Service Hydrologists, we need each other to do our job," said Jeff Zogg of WFO Davenport, IA.

Presentations from all the speakers, an on-line conference evaluation, and photographs are available at: www.nws.noaa.gov/om/water/hpm_conference/index.shtml.

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Alaska Region Teams with NOAA and Coast Guard in Recovery Operation

During the holiday season our thoughts tend to turn towards spending time with our families and friends. Not so for the team of individuals who are responding to a freighter incident that occurred in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska.

Chris Maier from the NWS, and John Whitney and Demian Bailey from NOAA's Office of Response and Recovery, are spending their days working in Dutch Harbor and the surrounding area on Unalaska Island. They are supporting rescue, clean-up, and salvage operations for a cargo ship which grounded, with a subsequent oil spill, in the Eastern Aleutians on December 8, 2004.

The M/V Selendang Ayu, a 738-foot Malaysian freighter, experienced engine trouble during a gale, and was in tow to sheltered waters when the tow line broke. Attempts to keep the freighter from drifting toward shore failed due to strong currents and heavy weather. The vessel has broken in half and is leaking fuel. A U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) HH-60 helicopter crashed while attempting a hoisting operation to rescue crew members from the ship. The USCG crew was rescued along with one civilian. Six crew members from the freighter are presumed deceased.

Maier, an Incident Meteorologist (IMET) from the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Juneau, AK, has assumed all weather briefing responsibilities at the Incident Command Center in Dutch Harbor. WFO Anchorage and the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit continue to produce a combined marine and aviation forecast product to support the IMET. Electronics Technicians from Anchorage, aided by Bailey, installed a meteorological sensor package on Cape Kovrizhka near the wreck site. This system provides real time hourly weather observations. Port meteorological officers in Anchorage and Kodiak, and the marine focal point at Weather Service Office Cold Bay, continue to work with ships in the area to solicit in-situ marine observations.

The IMET's main objective is to forecast windows of opportunity (lulls in the weather) when the operations team can safely conduct business. The weather in the Bering Sea region this time of year is notorious for its major storms. Responders have been able to take advantage of breaks in the weather to assess damage and accomplish some work due to the information that Maier and the National Weather Service are providing.

"This is a great example of NOAA coming together in a time of crisis," says Maier. "The services that the NWS is providing to our various customers and partners out here on the front line are only effective because of the expertise and guidance of John and Demian from NOAA Hazmat. We are calling ourselves the NOAA Scientific Support Team!"

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Employee Personal Page Replaces Employee Express System

The new calendar year brings a change in the way Department of Commerce (DOC) employees make payroll and personnel document changes.

To date, the Employee Express system enabled employees to use a phone or the Internet to process payroll/personnel documents such as mailing address changes and open season changes to health benefits, life insurance, and more.

On January 1, 2005, Employee Express was replaced by the National Finance Center's (NFC's) Employee Personal Page/Employee Self Service (EPP/ESS).

According to the DOC Office of Human Resources Management, the EPP/ESS is a "one-stop shop" that does everything EEX does plus more, at no additional charge to Department. Employees can accomplish a variety of activities through EEX, such as updating Federal and State tax information, and making direct deposit and financial allotment changes. EPP/ESS also allows employees to view and print their Earning and Leave Statements, benefits data, and W-2 forms.

With the EPP/ESS, updates and changes go directly to NFC, the Department's payroll/personnel provider. NFC has sent PIN letters to employees who currently do not have access to EPP/ESS. For more information and to view a demonstration of how EPP/ESS works, visit the NFC homepage at www.nfc.usda.gov and select "My EPP."

Contact your servicing human resources office with questions about the change.

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WFO Little Rock Aviation Team Receives NWS Recognition

(L to R) - WFO Little Rock Senior Forecaster Newton Skiles, SOO Christopher Buonanno and Meteorologist Intern Paul Iniguez were recognized for organizing and hosting an aviation seminar for area pilots. Photo by Meteorologist-In-Charge Renee Fair.

Members of the Little Rock, AR, Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Aviation Team recently earned the National Weather Service 2004 Third Quarter Aviation Team Award for their efforts in organizing and hosting an aviation seminar for area pilots and others with aviation interests.

Working in conjunction with the Arkansas Aerospace Education Center, the team hosted a three-hour seminar at the IMAX Theater in Little Rock, July 31, 2004. Attendees included 55 area pilots who were briefed on a range of topics including aircraft icing, aviation and thunderstorms and the development of statistically based climatology in support of aviation forecasting. Designed to strengthen ties between the National Weather Service and the aviation community, the seminar received high praise and is considered an excellent model for future workshops.

Team members include WFO Little Rock Senior Forecaster Newton Skiles, Science and Operations Officer Christopher Buonanno and Meteorologist Intern Paul Iñiguez.

"I would like to extend my personal congratulations to the team," said Bill Proenza, Director of NWS Southern Region Headquarters. "Their efforts exemplify the dedication of our employees to continue to improve aviation products and services. I encourage them and our other offices to keep up the good work."

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Fall 2004 AWARE Report Published

The latest issue of the AWARE Report is now available online. Covering topics from digital services to issues on aviation and marine services, dissemination, and more, you can read AWARE here.

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Also On the Web...2005 Federal Pay Rates Posted

New 2005 Federal Pay rates have been posted on the Office of Personnel Management page at http://www.opm.gov/oca/05tables/indexGS.asp.

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