Toward a New National Weather Service A First Report (1991) / Chapter Skim
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As a result, the United States has launched a bold and innovative program to modernize the National Weather Service (NWS) , a major component of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
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The National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should create technical advisory panels for each of the major systems that contribute to the technological modernization. However, these panels cannot substitute for the additional resources and personnel recommended.
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• Steps should be taken to ensure the continued development and improvement of Next Generation Weather Radar processing algorithms as new developments and operational experience accumulate. The National Weather Service should develop a continuing comprehensive training and education program so that the skills of the Next Generation Weather Radar maintenance and operational staffs, as well as the meteorologists and hydrologists, reflect the ever-changing state of the art.
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• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Commerce, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congress should provide more realistic budgeting and funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's operational satellite systems in order to realize the full potential benefits of the National Weather Service modernization and associated restructuring. Viability and Integrity of the Climate Data Record The nation's climate record is a valuable resource whose viability must be maintained.
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The National Weather Service, in consort with the university community and private sector users of National Weather Service data and information, should develop viable plans for broad access to the raw data and information that will become available via the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, Additional recommendations in this area appear in Chapter 2.
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Weather Forecast Offices The Committee has examined the various configurations of the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) network that have been considered and endorses the proposed network of 115 WFOs, which coincides with the expected effective coverage of the new Next Generation Weather Radars (NEXRADs)
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• The Department of Commerce should carefully reconsider its decision to have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service conduct a two-tiered Modernization and Associated Restructuring Demonstration because a configuration of significantly fewer than 115 Weather Forecast Offices will lead to serious degradation of weather services. Moreover, such an experiment would be much more complex and expensive, and would probably lead to a serious delay in the National Weather Service modernization.
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• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service should implement enhanced collaboration with universities in the atmospheric and hydrologic sciences, in both education and research.
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• To ensure that the association between the National Weather Service and the private sector functions smoothly and efficiently to the best advantage of all parties, including the general public, the constituent affairs activities of the National Weather Service should be strengthened; the Constituent Affairs Officer should act as an ombudsman for the private sector to the Assistant Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Weather Services, coordinate program changes with the private sector, obtain its inputs to National Weather Service planning and evaluation, and arbitrate or resolve conflicts as they arise.1 Public Institutions Community preparedness is essential to save lives and minimize property damage during severe weather situations. The critical role of the NWS is to participate actively in preparedness planning and then communicate both to state and local governments, and to the public, the seriousness of specific weather situations.
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Delays in procurement and funding constraints for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) are the most serious concerns involving hardware, although there are some troublesome delays in software and hardware for the Next Generation Weather Radar.
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Although the solution proposed for the problem of limited forecast staff on the night shift at the WFOs may reduce the overall savings visualized from restructuring the NWS until the effectiveness of automation can be demonstrated satisfactorily, the Committee believes that this would be compensated by savings to the A related recommendation appears in the section on operational staff in Chapter 6.
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Although the Committee has not received detailed plans for certification to review, it offers two initial observations. First, specific comparisons of the quantity and quality of weather information, forecasts, warnings, and their prompt dissemination must be obtained, both during the Modernization and Associated Restructuring Demonstration and during the process of certifying the capabilities of any WFO to serve its area of responsibility.
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