# Presentation: 796294

## NOAA Knowns in Norman

- Jeff Kimpel
- Director, NSSL
- November 21, 2006

## Fish

- Oceans
- Weather
- Satellites
- Research
- ~$4 B

## Within the Federal Government

- Secretary of Commerce

- NOAA

- Oceanic and Atmosphereric Research

- National Weather Service

- NSSL

- SPC

- ROC

- WFO

- WDTB

- WASH, DC

- Norman, OK

## Radar Operations Center (ROC)

- FY06 budget
- $23.3 M
- People
- 101 federal (tri-agency)
- 93 contractors
- 10 OU CIMMS
**204 total**

- ROC Functions
- Keep NEXRAD radars running
- Sustain baseline capabilities
- Improve system reliability
- integrate new capabilities
- Support NEXRAD product improvement program

## 158 Operational Doppler radars deployed throughout the United States and at selected international locations.

**158 Operational Doppler radars deployed throughout the United States and at selected international locations.**

**CONUS (141)**

**Alaska (7)**

**Azores (1)**

**Puerto Rico (1)**

**Hawaii (4)**

**Korea (2)**

**Okinawa (1)**

**Guam (1)**

## ROC Program Milestones

- 1987: Unysis contract; ROC established
- 1990-1995: NEXRAD deployment
- 1996-2002: Open Radar Product Generator (ORPG)
- Hi-res products, rapid refresh algorithms, new science
- 2001-2006: Open Radar Data Acquisition (ORDA)
- Super-res products, improved data quality/calibration, new science, foundation for Dual Polarization
- 2006-2011: Dual Polarization (Dual Pol)
- Improve precipitation estimates, classify precipitation types, improve data quality

## National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

- FY06 budget
- $22.9 M
- People
- 44 federal
- 39 OU CIMMS
- 11 OU students
- 12 contractors
**106 total**

- Three Major Thrusts
- 1) Weather radar research
- 2) Science and modeling to improve hazardous weather forecasts and warnings
- 3) Hydrometeorology – precip estimation and runoff modeling

## DUAL POLARIZATIONRADAR

**DUAL POLARIZATIONRADAR**

## National Weather Radar Testbed

***National Weather Radar Testbed***

## Storm Prediction Center (SPC)

- FY06 budget
- $4.4 M
- People
- 33 federal
- 4 contractor/CIMMS
**37 total**

- SPC Functions
- Issue tornado watches
- Issue severe thunderstorm watches
- Issue convective outlooks (1-8 days out)
- Issue fire weather outlooks (1-8 days out)
- Issue guidance and keep records

## CONVECTIVE OUTLOOKSDay 1 – 5 times/day; Day 2 – 2 times a day; Day 3 – once a day; Experimental Composite Day 4-8

**Notes:**
A second common sense rule is that the strength of a building must be considered before using it for shelter do not go into something simply because its there.

## All TORNADO and SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHESfor the Contiguous United States

**Notes:**
This shows both the old and the new Watch, they are similar BUT different.  From a service aspect, in the past we constantly got e-mails and letters from people saying that they could not figure out if they were in a watch without looking at a map. Hopefully this will solve that problem, of course it will require that people know what county they are in. Perhaps our TV colleagues, like Tom, will have to translate watches into interstate highway information 

## The Watch/Warning Funnel Concept

**The Watch/Warning Funnel Concept**

**Thunderstorm, Fire Weather,**
**Severe Weather **_**OUTLOOKS**_

**Detailed Mesoscale**
_**DISCUSSIONS**_

**SVR/TOR**
_**WATCHES**_

**WARN**

**Hours**

**Days**

**Minutes**

**SPC**
**Products**

**Local NWS**
**Products (WFO)**

**Notes:**
This slide provides a graphical example of how SPC carries out its mission. The forecast funnel is a method used to describe both the forecast process and the products that result from that process. The top of the funnel represents larger scale weather systems and events that cover a period of days and extend over large areas. As we descend through the funnel, time and space shrink so that we are now dealing with weather events occurring in a matter of hours and perhaps covering a couple of states. As we descend further, we are now down to hours and minutes when quick decisions and actions may need to be made, and weather events are unfolding more rapidly.

The products of importance that correspond to these different scales include: Outlooks for the extended range, discussions that are more detailed and finer in scale, severe thunderstorm and tornado watches when the threat appears almost imminent, and finally warnings for when the severe weather threat is imminent in a local area. The SPC specializes in the issuance of these products across the top portion of the funnel right up until the point at which conditions appear favorable for the formation of severe storms, or severe weather is moving from one area to another. Once severe storms form and move into your area, the local NWS office, in this case WFO XXX, issues a warning for your area if the storms are deemed severe. The watches that SPC issues are the watches that the local office distributes to you via NOAA weather radio. Every thunderstorm watch area, or “box”, you see on The Weather Channel, or on your local TV station, originates from the Storm Prediction Center office in Norman, OK.

## Oklahoma City / Norman Weather Service Forecast Office (WFO)

- FY06 budget
- $3.5 M
- People
- 27 federal
- 0 contractor/CIMMS
**27 total**

- WFO Functions
- Take surface and upper air observations
- Issue tornado, severe thunderstorm, and flash flood warnings
- Issue public, aviation, river, and fire weather forecasts
- Program NOAA Weather Radio

## Service Area

## NWS Oklahoma City Weather Forecast OfficeNorman, Oklahoma

- January 31, 2002

## Warning Decision Training Branch (WDTB)

- FY06 budget
- $1.2 M
- People
- 9 federal
- 9 contractor/CIMMS
**18 total**

- WDTB:
- Trains NWS personnel to improve performance goals
- Teaches expertise in science, technology, and human factors
- Developed the hazardous weather event simulator
- Pioneered distance learning in NOAA

## Slide 18

## Simulations Improve Performance

- Developing Expertise
- Routine Events
- High Impact Events
- “Train as You Fight”

**Notes:**
AWOC uses the Weather Event Simulator to tie together concepts taught in other parts of the course. The picture is from our lab where we brought AWOC Facilitators (mostly SOOs and DOHs) together to discuss the simulations. 

## NOAA Groups Work Together

- On Radar:
- NSSL – ROC – WFO
- On Improving Forecasts and Warnings:
- NSSL – SPC – WFO
- Training Forecasters:
- WDTB with NSSL, ROC, SPC, and WFO

## NOAA Knowns in Norman

- FY06 Budget
- $55.3 M
- People
- 214 federal
- 61 OU CIMMS
- 10 OU Students
- 107 contractors
**392 Total**