NOAA 98-R
Contact: Curtis D. Carey FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(xxx) xxx-xxxx Ext. xxx 12/15/98
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT AWARDS GOLD MEDAL TO MELBOURNE,
FL WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE
The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded its Gold Medal to the Melbourne, Florida Weather Forecast Officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service for their actions during Florida's worst tornado outbreak.
The office staff was recognized with the award December
10 by Commerce Secretary William Daley at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The Melbourne Forecast Office was widely heralded
for their actions during the most devastating tornado outbreak in Florida's
history on February 22-23, 1998. Warnings were issued with 100 percent
accuracy and lead times twice the national average. Sadly, many people
still lost their lives and highlighted the need to get more people armed
with the NOAA Weather Radio, the voice of the National Weather Service.
Their operational research of the event significantly advanced the understanding
of Florida tornado outbreaks.
The Secretary grants the Gold Medal -- the Department's
highest honorary award -- for extraordinary achievements in support of
the Department's critical objectives. These achievements have a significant
beneficial effect on the nation, and sometimes the world.