The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today launched its home page with a new and fresh look. Each year millions of Internet surfers turn to the NOAA home page and its related sites for the latest news from the agency, including weather across the nation. The redesign comes three years after NOAA unveiled a design that proved very popular with surfers on the Web.

The new design still maintains the information and links that surfers have come to expect. The improvements include a front-page link to the latest weather conditions across the United States from the NOAA National Weather Service. You can also find beach temperatures, navigation charts, drought and fire weather information, and the latest satellite images of world events.

“The NOAA home page is the agency’s Internet front door where surfers can find a wealth of information on the science that NOAA performs on behalf of the nation and the world,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

The NOAA home page this year was recognized by PC Magazine as one of the “100 Top Undiscovered Web sites,” citing it as one of the sites “you won't be able to imagine life before them.”

“The aim of the new design is to make it even easier for surfers to find NOAA information,” said Greg Hernandez, the NOAA home page online editor and webmaster. “The previous design did a great job of firmly putting NOAA on the Internet map. The new design is not only attractive but also very functional in helping to put NOAA information and the latest news stories just a few keystrokes away.”

The new design, as well as the previous one, was conceived by computer specialist Janet Ward, with the NOAA Office of the Chief Information Officer and High Performance Computing and Communications. “Her expertise in Web design and programming is one of the key elements to the success of the NOAA home page,” said Hernandez.

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through research to better understand weather and climate-related events and to manage wisely the nation's coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov