Utilizing The New National Fire Weather Page
| A key component to the new national fire weather page is its interactive map that
allows you to examine critical fire weather information at the national level initially (Figure 1), but quickly provide you
access to local and regional fire weather data as well (Figure 2). |
| On the interactive map, move to any location (zoom in/out, drag mouse, etc.) and left click
on your point of interest. A bubble will appear at that point and give you access to a wide variety of information relevant
to that data point. Information includes the fire weather forecast, a 7-Day point forecast, hourly weather graph, and
digital/tabular weather information. If any fire weather watches, red flag warnings, or hazardous weather outlooks have been
issued, links to this critical information appear in the bubble. In addition, you can view the fire weather page and activity
planner from the local National Weather Service (NWS) office responsible for that particular point. Farsite data is also available
along with the ability to examine MesoWest observations within a 50 mile radius of that point. You can also submit a spot
forecast to the local NWS office for the point you have selected (Figure 3). |
| One other note of interest in the bubble are the Permalink and Bookmark capabilities.
By selecting Permalink, you will change the URL address to that specific point (Figure 4). You can then copy and paste that address
and send it in an e-mail or bookmark if necessary. The Bookmark link will automatically take you into your favorites/bookmarks
folder and allow you to save it. |
Figure 4 - Permalink Example
 |
| The map actions section (Figure 5) gives you the opportunity to overlay a variety of information via
the use of radio buttons at the bottom of the main map. Information to overlay includes Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings,
active fire perimeters, spot weather forecasts from the NWS, a Day-1 precipitation forecast, and the Day-1 fire outlook from the
Storm Prediction Center. You can get specific data at a given point by typing location information in the Enter Location box just
above the Google Map. Note a table shows you the many ways in which you can enter in location information. Many of the overlays can
also be imported into Google Earth by selecting the KML option to the right of the Google Map. Finally, you can also move about the
Google map by selecting a particular Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) region on the map just to the lower right of the Google
Map. |
| At the bottom of the main page are the graphical depictions of the Storm Prediction Center's Fire Outlooks.
Click any image or the link below the image to read the corresponding text product. |
| On the left hand side of the page are valuable links (Figure 7) to fire weather information that give you access to
national weather hazards, current and forecast weather/fire weather conditions, drought and precipitation information, longer range weather
outlooks, fuel information, administrative items, and links to GACCs and other agencies. In addition, in the Current Hazards sections, a
link to the national fire weather briefing page is available. |
Figure 7 - Links
 |
| At the top of the main page is a section for Fire Weather News. Two important pieces exist in this
section, a link to an online survey for you to provide feedback to us regarding the new site, and a link to the National Interagency
Fire Agreement. |
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