NATIONAL WEATHER ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER

No. 98-12 December 1998

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

THE FUTURE OF WEATHER FORECASTING IS NOW

My year as president is ending, it went extremely fast and was very exciting. Congratulations to the new officers and councilors for 1999. You will find that while it is a privilege to be an NWA officer, it also carries with it a responsibility to maintain the credibility of our Association. As Professor Jim Moore takes over the reins as president, the NWA will be in good hands as we approach the new millennium. Jim brings a wealth of new ideas and enthusiasm to the table.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you, the members of the NWA, for your support and encouragement during the last 12 months. I especially appreciate the assistance of the Council members, committee chairpersons and members, the Digest and Newsletter editors, the home page curators, and the 1998 Annual Meeting Coordinators. I also want to acknowledge Jim Moore and Russ Schneider who edited most of these essays, and most of all Kevin Lavin, the NWA executive director, who does the thousands of things that are necessary to maintain a strong professional organization.

In the first of this series of essays, I noted that "the tools, the scientific credibility, and the necessary infrastructure are all coming into place so that weather forecasts and warnings both truly protect lives and property, and enhance prosperity. There are still some challenges to be met, but we have crossed the frontier of making weather a true industry." Those words are even truer today than they were a year ago.

Today's National Weather Service is much different than the one that existed only last January, and plans are being made for even more dramatic changes in the near future. The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), formed just last year as part of the US Air Force Weather reengineering effort, is continuing to improve on a long history of strong, customer-driven, mission-oriented support. AFWA and the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command are now using mesoscale prediction models in support to worldwide military operations and are enthusiastic about future fine-scale developments for increased accuracy and enhanced customer support.

The significant weather events of this past year have underscored the value to electronic media of individuals who are not only good communicators, but also weather professionals. The public's growing awareness of environmental issues is creating new markets for industrial and forensic meteorologists, while a growing number of weather dependent industries are seeing the economic value of having private meteorologists provide forecasts customized to specific needs. The metamorphosis of our profession is continuing.

While this bodes well for the future, we must all remember that the foundation of weather business is service. In times of change, when budgets shrink or resources decrease, service often seems like a laudable goal rather than an essential part of doing business. It is tempting to rely on voice mail systems, e-mail, home pages, and similar technological contrivances to handle the interpersonal communications that are an integral part of our occupation. While this might be expedient, it takes operational meteorologists away from their customers. This year saw an increase in calls to the NWA office from many parts of the country requesting weather forecasts and other weather data. This indicated that more citizens are becoming "weatherwise," but do not know how best to obtain information when they need it. Many callers told us they were referred by directory assistance operators who indicated this was the closest listing to a weather service organization. If customers do not know who provides their weather support services, nor how best to obtain weather information when they need it, they can’t be counted on to support, much less help defend, service improvements or budget relief. All NWA members can help in this continual customer education process. Yes, the future of weather forecasting is now, but many of us, as operational meteorologists or in related fields have to earn our place in it daily.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year. I look forward to seeing you at the 1999 Annual Meeting in Biloxi next October. - Joe Schaefer

Happy New Year!

The NWA Council and staff send best wishes to all for good health, happiness, prosperity, and quality weather support service in the New Year.

MEMBER NEWS

WELCOME! New Corporate Member:

FRAME RATE CORPORATION, 3007 S. West Temple, Suite H, Salt Lake City, UT 84115; http://www.framerate.com Point of Contact: James R. Harvey, President and CEO, phone: (801) 487-0069; Fax: (801) 487-0522; e-mail: jrharvey@framerate.com

John S. Sturtevant - has been with Weather Scratch Meteorological Services for the past ten years, he has taken

on a new challenge recently and will start teaching Introduction to Meteorology at the Mettech Training School in Rogersville, Alabama this year. For more information see http://www.wxscratch.com and http://www.metschool.com. John also relayed that Weather Scratch Meteorological Services - an NWA corporate member for many years now, has new offices. In July they moved into their new state-of-the-art operations center at 61 Todd Street, Suite 107, Russellville, Alabama 35654; phone: (256) 331-2881; Fax: (256) 331-2863; e-mail: metservices@wxscratch.com Weather Scratch currently serves clients in 44 countries. For more information see http://www.wxscratch.com

Lane Roberts has retired after serving over 38 years as a Broadcast Meteorologist. Most of those years he served along the Gulf Coast; the last ten years at WCTV in Tallahassee. His career in operational meteorology started in the Air Force’s Air Weather Service in the mid-50’s. Among his many broadcasting experiences included four years at The Weather Channel in the early to mid 80’s. He intends to keep busy by traveling, studying, and yachting – he’s working on his Captain’s license.

NWA Newsletter (ISSN 0271-1044)

Co-Editors: Larry Burch and Eli Jacks

Publisher: Kevin Lavin, Executive Director

Published monthly by the National Weather Association,

6704 Wolke Court, Montgomery, Alabama 36116-2134.

Tel/FAX: (334) 213-0388

E-mail: NatWeaAsoc@aol.com

Home page: http://www.nwas.org

Submit newsletter items directly to: Editor NWA Newsletter, Eli Jacks, NOAA/NWS W/OM21, 1325 East West Hwy Room 13125, Silver Spring MD 20910; e-mail: Elliott.Jacks@noaa.gov or to: Larry Burch, NOAA/NWSFO, 2242 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City UT 84116; e-mail: Larry.Burch@noaa.gov. Material received by the 5th will be considered for that month’s issue.

Members receive the monthly NWA Newsletter and quarterly National Weather Digest as part of their regular, student or corporate membership privileges. Contact the NWA for membership information. Newsletter subscriptions are available at $18.00 per year plus extra shipping costs outside USA. Single copies are $1.50

Contact the NWA office with address changes.

LOCAL CHAPTER NEWS

Heart of the Midlands Chapter of the NWA - A joint meeting of The Heart of the Midlands chapter, and the Omaha - Offutt AFB chapter of the American Meteorological Society was held on 19 November at the Venice Inn, Omaha, NE. Bruce Telfeyan, AMS chapter president, called the business meeting to order at 8:20 PM and welcomed Mark Lee, NWA chapter president, and all AMS and NWA chapter members and returning guests. The main purpose of the joint meeting was to discuss the possibilities of holding a Severe Weather Symposium in the Omaha Metropolitan area. This Symposium would be sponsored by the local NWA and AMS chapters, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Valley Nebraska, the Douglas County R.E.A.C.T., the Air Force Weather Agency located at Offutt AFB Nebraska, Omaha's local television meteorologists from: KMTV Channel 3, WOWT Channel 6, KETV Channel 7, and KPTM Fox 42, and local area HAM's. Paul McCrone, Vice President of the NWA chapter mentioned he had contacted several potential speakers from Oklahoma City including those at the Storm Prediction Center, OSF, and other NOAA representatives. The conference is slated for 27-29 August 1999 at the Peter Kiewit Conference Center in Omaha. Al Moller is a tentative speaker for the night of the 27th and Paul suggested spotter training and other more formal seminars to be part of the symposium. More information will be confirmed by the New Year.

The NWA chapter has offered to co-host the AMS chapter's Career Night, to be held in February of 1999.

The guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Jim Hoke, the acting director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). He presented "Happenings at the NCEP, Three Years after it's Formation." Dr. Hoke explained the responsibilities of NCEP's branches and how they support their customers. He also discussed the intricacies of the NCEP computers and how they are similar in function to the Air Force Weather Agency's functions. Dr. Hoke's educational and professional experiences are extremely impressive. A few highlights include: BS in Physics, 1970; MS in Meteorology, 1973; Ph.D. in Meteorology, 1976; Research Meteorologist, National Hurricane Research Laboratory (1973); Numerical Weather Prediction Meteorologist, AF Global Weather Central, Offutt AFB NE (1976-1980); Meteorologist, Short-range Modeling Branch, NMC/NWS (1980-1989); Chief, Meteorological Operations Division, NMC/NWS (1990-1995); Chief, Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, NCEP/NWS (1995-present).

- Ralph Hanson

Sec-Treas. Heart of the Midlands Chapter, NWA

× IN MEMORIAM Ø

DR. T. THEODORE FUJITA (1920-1998), died on November 19, 1998 and on the 20th, numerous e-mails announced the sad news no doubt worldwide - he was that well known and admired. Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago placed the following obituary on the Chicago Tribune weather page in place of his usual weather question/answer column on Friday, November 20th and it also was broadcast on the Internet.

"The University of Chicago's famed Dr. T. Theodore Fujita, who, over a 44 year career here, revolutionized the meteorological community's understanding of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, passed away quietly in his sleep early Thursday morning. Fujita, a meticulous researcher who both discovered and named the "downburst" and "microburst", also developed the widely used "Fujita Scale" or "F-scale" which classifies tornado strength, based upon the damage they produce. He introduced post-tornado overflights and damage surveys, techniques for determining tornadic winds from films, and introduced the concept of the "multiple vortex" tornado, twisters within which smaller funnels rotate. Our deepest sympathy to his wife Sumiko and his son Dr. Kazuya Fujita, also a professor. Thanks, Ted. You will be greatly missed."

Dr. Jim Purdom of NOAA/NESDIS/ORA e-mailed many to remind that, "Ted was one of our brilliant pioneers in the field of satellite meteorology. During the formative days of NESS, and later for NESDIS, the research that Ted and his group undertook at the University of Chicago lay a foundation for much of our activity in satellite analysis and research today. In the early 1960s, Ted led the Mesoscale Meteorology Research Project in the Department of Geophysical Sciences at University of Chicago, which soon had a name change to the Satellite Mesoscale Meteorology Research Project....In 1967, Ted received the AMS Meisinger Award for pioneering research on mesometeorological analysis and broad contributions to the use of meteorological satellites. In 1985, when the 25th anniversary of weather satellites was underway, at a National Space Club reception at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Ted, along with a small group of others, received special awards for their contributions that led to the success of the U.S. weather satellite program. At that event, Ted was cited for "creative scientific leadership as an enthusiastic pioneer in the use of satellite imagery to analyze and predict mesoscale weather phenomena and to understand severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes."

Dr. Fujita joined the NWA in its early years and was awarded the NWA Annual Research Achievement Award in 1978. This honored him for his research work in defining the "downburst’’ and "microburst" and applying its relationship to aircraft accidents and for his previous work in radar and satellite meteorology and in characterizing tornadoes and hurricanes by area and intensity - significantly contributing to operational meteorology.

I had the privilege of first meeting Dr. Fujita at a conference at the University of Chicago in the mid 60’s and marveled at his observational skills. He collected numerous photographs and home movies from many people across the country and studied them like a military photo intelligence expert. At that time he was estimating tornado wind speeds from characteristic ground marks. In the mid 70’s he took pictures from a low-flying Cessna of a large number of trees lying flat on the ground in a starburst formation which helped him clearly define the "downburst" phenomena. We understand this model scientist although ill had been doing research and mentoring students up until his death. As Tom Skilling said earlier, "Thanks Ted. You will be greatly missed." - K. Lavin

 

FEBRUARY 2nd - JOB SHADOW DAY

On 2 February 1999, join many others in enabling students to participate in the second annual National Groundhog Job Shadow Day. You can help give students an up-close look at how the skills they learn in school are put into action in the workplace. For more information refer to the website: http://www.jobshadow.org

 

1999 ANNUAL MEETING - BILOXI, MS

The 24th Annual Meeting of the NWA will be held at the Isle of Capri Casino Crowne Plaza Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. Activities will begin on Saturday evening, 16 October 1999 and conclude on Friday morning, 22 October 1999.

The Isle of Capri Crowne Plaza Resort is at 151 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi MS 39530. Hotel room reservations can be made by calling 1-800-843-4753, pressing 1 for the Biloxi location and then ask for reservations at extension 8760, 8761 or 8762. Please inform the reservationist that you will be attending the National Weather Association conference and that your conference code is "NAT". The "NAT" single or double discount rate is $71.82 per night plus state/local taxes (currently 10%). All reservations must be guaranteed by a major credit card and be made by individuals 21 years of age or older.

The deadline for making reservations is 1 October 1999. Cancellations will be accepted up until 72 hours prior to check in. Hotel check in is at 4:00 PM; check-out is at 12:00 noon. More information on this Annual Meeting will be supplied in later Newsletters.

Make plans to attend NOW! The program will build on the very successful 1998 meeting where over 350 participated. The Biloxi area is near Keesler AFB, Stennis Space Center and other possible tour locations.

...INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CONSTRUCTION BEGINS...

The Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:53 PM EST (0353 UTC) on Monday, 14 December 1998 after a very successful 11 day mission. Endeavour launched from KSC’s Pad 39A on Friday, 4 December at 3:35 AM EST (0835 UTC) after a one day delay. Mission objectives included a rendezvous with the Russian built Zarya segment which had been launched in November, moving the US built node 1 (Unity) upon Endeavour’s docking mechanism and docking the Shuttle/Unity to Zarya, and completing three space walks to make additional connections on the new International Space Station. All objectives were accomplished.

At the Johnson Space Center, NOAA/NWS Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG), the Mission Lead Forecaster for STS-88 was Karl A. Silverman, working his 31st mission, 5th as Lead. Richard Lafosse was Assistant Lead and Doris Rotzoll worked as the Lead Techniques Development Unit Meteorologist. SMG web page has been changed to: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/smg

The planned launch had been Thursday, 3 December, but an electrical problem late in the count down delayed the launch one day. Prior to the electrical problem, the weather had been a key factor in the launch decision. A high pressure system covered the southeast US and southwestern Atlantic. Showers developed over the water and moved towards the Florida coast in the southeast flow. Moderate rain showers moved into the launch (and emergency return landing area) an hour prior to the scheduled launch. [There are stand-off distances for rain showers that must be met for the launch site and also for the landing site at KSC, in the event of a launch abort.] The showers cleared the launch area minutes before the scheduled launch, but were predicted to be near the stand-off distance limit for landing at return-to-launch site (RTLS) abort landing time. At the final decision point, the observed and forecast RTLS landing weather was No-Go. However, this became a moot point when the electrical problem occurred. For the next day’s launch attempt, the KSC weather was better, with scattered low clouds and no showers in the KSC area. One of the three Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites had acceptable weather. (Only one "Go" TAL site is required for launch.) Endeavour launched on time at 0835 UTC 4 December, at the opening of the 5-minute launch window.

Weather also played an important role on the December 14 landing day. An upper-level trough moving into the southeast US helped a surface low pressure system to develop off the Florida coast, east of KSC. A shield of low clouds developed around the low and spread west over eastern Florida about 15 hours prior to landing. The northeast movement of the low and daytime heating eroded the clouds over the land during the day. By sunset, the edge of the cloud shield was along the coast at KSC. The SMG landing forecast called for scattered low clouds at landing time. The forecast also included a chance of ceilings for the possibility that the cloud deck would develop westward under the inversion as temperatures dropped. As the landing count continued, the weather reconnaissance aircraft and infrared satellite imagery showed very slow eastward movement of the cloud shield. At about 1 hour before the de-orbit burn (2 hours before landing), the clouds continued to show a slow eastward progression and the chance of low cloud ceilings at KSC was dropped from the SMG forecast, making the landing forecast a "Go." Endeavour landed under clear skies.

Space Shuttle Mission Trivia as of 31 December 1998:

10th night landing; 17 KSC landings in a row;

25 KSC landings out of the past 30;

KSC landing total is now 46 exceeding Edwards AFB CA (EDW) total of 45 (White Sands Space Harbor = 1);

This was only the 2nd KSC landing with Clear Skies reported. The other was STS-50. - Karl Silverman

 

SPACE WEATHER - WHAT?

The International Space Station and Senator John Glenn’s recent return to Space highlighted Space Environment Hazards - Space Weather. This was a very timely wake-up call to remind us that "solar maximum" (the max in the 11-year sunspot cycle) is coming up during 2000-2001. During the last peak in 1989, space environment hazards increased dramatically. In October 1989, the Sun produced enough energetic particles that an astronaut on the Moon, wearing only a space suit and caught out in the brunt of the storm, would probably have died. Skylab is an example of a spacecraft re-entering Earth's atmosphere prematurely as a result of higher-than-expected solar activity. During the great geomagnetic storm of March 1989, four of the Navy's navigational satellites had to be taken out of service for up to a week. On 13 March 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, 6 million people were without commercial electric power for 9 hours as a result of a huge geomagnetic storm. Some areas in the northeastern U.S. and in Sweden also lost power. For more review material see website: http://www.sel.noaa.gov/primer/primer.html

 

GOES-L WEATHER SATELLITE STATUS

The GOES-L weather satellite, to be launched aboard an Atlas II rocket in late March or early April, arrived in mid-December at Cape Canaveral Air Station, FL from the manufacturing plant in Palo Alto, CA. GOES-L is the fourth spacecraft to be launched in the new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites. Once in orbit the spacecraft is to be designated GOES-11 and will complete check-out before the start of the 1999 hurricane season.

1998 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON SUMMARY

The 1998 hurricane season brought an above-average number of hurricanes and tropical storms including the devastating Hurricane Mitch making it the deadliest Atlantic region season in more than 200 years in terms of storm-related fatalities, reported scientists at the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A contributing factor to the increased activity, 50 percent more hurricanes and 30 percent more tropical storms than normal, was a climate phenomenon called La Niña, cooler-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the central tropical Pacific.

In a joint Aug. 4 outlook, forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, National Hurricane Center and Hurricane Research Division correctly predicted above normal tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic between August and October. The Atlantic season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30, spawned 14 tropical storms (average is 10) with ten becoming hurricanes (average is six). Almost all of these storms and hurricanes occurred subsequent to the forecasts. There were $3.2 billion in insured damages and 21 deaths in the United States.

"The art of forecasting is better than ever, thanks to our talented people and our investment in science and technology," said Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley. "Nevertheless, events of this Atlantic hurricane season are sobering. Our thoughts and prayers are with the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the hurricane season. I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and property and the enormous economic losses. They are a reminder that we need to continue the momentum of modern forecasting, hurricane awareness for everyone from policymakers to families, communications designed to reach even the remotest of villages, and building disaster resistant communities."

"Our investment in technology has enhanced our ability to make better hurricane predictions," said D. James Baker, NOAA administrator. "We, as a nation, need to continue striving toward better hurricane track forecasts. The payoff is less disruption caused by needlessly evacuating areas that aren't affected, and longer lead times in which to evacuate people and safeguard property in areas that are."

"The season started a little late with Tropical Storm Alex on July 27, but made up for lost time," said Jerry Jarrell, director of the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center. "In a remarkable span of 35 days between Aug. 19 and Sept. 2, 10 named tropical storms formed. That's nearly a whole year's worth of activity crammed into little more than a month."

The year tallied seven landfalling storms in the continental US, including Hurricanes Bonnie, Earl, Georges, Frances and Mitch (the last two were downgraded to a tropical storm on landfall) and Tropical Storms Charley and Hermine.

The 1998 Atlantic season was the deadliest in more than 200 years. Not since the hurricane of 1780 that struck Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados (Oct. 10-16, 1780), killing between 20,000 and 22,000, has the Atlantic hurricane basin seen storm-related fatalities like those of Hurricane Mitch (Oct. 21-Nov. 5). Wire services attribute some 11,000 deaths to Mitch, with thousands more missing. Mitch, a Category 5 monster, registered average sustained winds near 180 mph (Oct. 25) with gusts well over 200 mph. Mitch was the fourth most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic basin this century based on barometric pressure, and the strongest ever observed in the month of October.

During the 1998 season, NOAA scientists, working with NASA and University collaborators, conducted the most complete and sophisticated campaign of observations in hurricanes ever, noted Hugh Willoughby, director of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division.

"In Bonnie, Danielle and Georges, we had six or seven aircraft observing the same hurricane simultaneously," Willoughby said. "Advanced observing instrumentation and remote sensing technology aboard NOAA's Gulfstream-IV high altitude jet and WP-3D airplanes make each of these platforms an airborne laboratory, vastly more capable than those flying just a couple of decades ago. We can study and understand hurricanes on all scales, from a single raindrop to hemisphere-wide winds that control the storm's motion."

NOAA's hurricane forecasting technology includes sophisticated supercomputers and their numerical models, observational systems such as the GOES satellites, and "hurricane hunter" aircraft that include a new Gulfstream-IV jet and two WP-3D Orion turboprops.

For more information on hurricanes and the season summary, consult the NHC home page at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov For current "El Niño / La Niña Forecasts and Outlooks" and "Special Climate Summaries" that include this year's hurricane activity, check http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov For background on Hurricane Mitch, consult the National Climatic Data Center website (Mitch: The Deadliest Atlantic Hurricane Since 1780) at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/mitch/mitch.html and for more information about hurricane research, visit: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/HFP98/index.html

- NOAA Hurricane Report, 2 Dec 98

 

1999 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON OUTLOOK

Dr. William M. Gray, Christopher W. Landsea, Paul W. Mielke, Jr. and Kenneth J. Berry predicted on 4 December 1998, that 1999 would be "A year for which above average hurricane activity and US hurricane landfall probability are anticipated." They expect 14 named storms; 9 hurricanes and 4 intense hurricanes. They also expect a greater probability for hurricane landfall along the US east and gulf coasts. This outlook is based on the continuing research by these authors, along with meteorological information through November 1998.

- http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/1999/fcst99/

MEETINGS OF INTEREST

• Pacific Northwest Weather Workshop will be held at the NOAA Western Regional Center campus at Sand Point in Seattle, Washington on 26-27 February 1999. This annual conference, sponsored by the National Weather Service, the University of Washington, and the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, reviews recent developments in weather forecasting and observational technologies affecting the West Coast, major weather events of the past year, and other topics dealing with the meteorology of the region. A major theme of this year's meeting will be the hydrometeorology of western North America including high resolution atmospheric/hydrological modeling, river and streamflow prediction, and studies of major flooding and heavy precipitation events. Abstracts were due 1 December 1998. For further information on registration or presentations, contact Clifford Mass, Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, Box 351640, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (206-685-0190, cliff@atmos.washington.edu) or Brad Colman/Chris Hill, NWS Forecast Office, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (206-526-6095 x224 or x222, colman@seawfo.noaa.gov or chris.hill@noaa.gov).

 

• Third Annual Central Iowa NWA Chapter Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference will be held 26-28 March 1999 at the University Park Holiday Inn, West Des Moines, Iowa. It will begin on Friday, 26 March at 1:30 PM and conclude on Sunday, 28 March at noon. Last year's event attracted 318 meteorologists, weathercasters, storm chasers and emergency management officials from the U.S. and Canada. Presentations related to all aspects of severe weather and operational use of Doppler radar are encouraged. Special emphasis is being placed on the use of Build 10 WSR-88D algorithms and implications for NWS and media forecasters. The program committee is also seeking success stories on the implementation of EMWIN and other cooperative ventures involving the public and private sector. The annual Friday night storm chase video session will also return for 1999. Bring video and photos of your latest chase!

Anyone wishing to make a presentation, please e-mail an abstract or one paragraph description of your proposed talk to: johnmc49@ecity.net or by postal mail to: John McLaughlin, KCCI-TV, 888 Ninth Street, Des Moines, IA 50309.

Registration details will be posted on the Internet at http://www.ecity.net/~iowanwa/ You can also link to this website from the NWA home page at http://www.nwas.org

Les Lemon will also teach a 16-hour Doppler radar course in Des Moines, 6-7 March 1999. Completion of the course results in a certificate. Class fee is $300 and is limited. For additional details, email johnmc49@ecity.net.

 

• 21st Annual National Hurricane Conference will be held 29 March - 2 April 1999 at the Omni Rosen Hotel, Orlando, Florida. General session topics will include an overview of the 1999 hurricane season, Bill Gray’s 1999 hurricane season outlook, improvements in hurricane forecasting, mitigation strategies that work and much more. Thirty-six workshops are being planned and exhibits will be available. Reserve your room at the Omni Rosen by calling 1-800-843-6664 by 1 March

for the National Hurricane Conference Group Rate. Register to attend the Conference by 15 January to obtain discount rates. For more information call (850) 906-9224 or check the Internet website http://www.nettally.com/nhc

• 1999 TESSA National Meeting is scheduled for 17 April in Plano, Texas. Veteran storm chasers Dr. Charles Doswell, Gene Moore and Alan Moller have accepted invitations to speak at the 6th annual TESSA National Meeting. This represents a reunion of three senior storm chasers. All three have contributed greatly to the science of storm chasing and severe weather forecasting techniques and education. They are among the most respected in the "storm" industry. Details are available on the Internet on the TESSA News page at http://www.tessa.org

 

• Annual Storm Spotter Training. Check with your nearest National Weather Service Forecast Office and County Emergency Managers for storm spotter training availability, Spring severe weather seminars and for your local area Severe Weather Awareness Week schedule.

JOB CORNER

Ed: The NWA lists job openings in the regular paper Newsletter copies free from equal opportunity employers for the benefit of members. Submit job openings to the NWA office at anytime. See http://www.nwas.org/jobs.html for the latest listings.