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Texas
The National Weather
Service's Houston/Galveston Forecast Office received the
Outstanding Achievement Award for Meteorology at the
2001 National Hurricane Conference in Washington, DC. The forecast
office was recognized as becoming the preeminent resource
for hurricane preparedness and mitigation in southeast Texas
and for the NASA Johnson Space Center.
Covering all key aspects of hurricane preparedness, response
and recovery, the National Hurricane Conference is the nation's
forum for education and professional training in hurricane safety.
The Houston/Galveston Forecast Office was cited for excellence
in developing an annual hurricane workshop. The workshop gives
local emergency management, media and the public the chance
to obtain hurricane safety information and network with other
agencies. About 500 to 800 people take part each year.
The forecast office team was commended for establishing an outstanding
working relationship with local emergency managers. Evacuation
plans and understanding of weather service products have improved
as a result. In 1994, a paging service was started to alert
up to 100 local emergency managers of severe weather conditions.
Two years later, a conference call program was set up to warn
coastal emergency managers of tropical storm systems threatening
to the Texas coast.
Bill Read, Meteorologist in Charge, Houston/Galveston
National Weather Service Office, accepted Outstanding
Achievement Award for Meteorology on behalf of
Houston/Galveston forecast office.
National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston Forecast Office
celebrating Outstanding Achievement Award for Meteorology.
(left to right) Kim Mikesell, Matt Moreland, Don Oettinger,
Mike Kennedy, Paul Lewis,Gene Hafele, Brian Kyle, Rich Businger,
Kent Prochazka, Rich Hitchens, Dave Schwertz, Carolyn Levert,
Lance Wood, Steve Taylor, Bill Read, Tom Fountain, Josh Lichter,
and Wendy Wong. Not shown: Steve Allen, Dave Grant, Debbie
Helvy, Jim Nelson, Charles Roeseler, William Toppin, Robert
Van Hoven, and Jon Zeitler.
Maryland
In Baltimore Harbor, the 2nd annual Fort McHenry Wetlands Restoration/NOAA
Field Day, a community-based restoration effort, took off with
an energetic boost from NOAA leadership. In partnership with
the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the NOAA
Restoration Center and 50 NOAA employees and their families
tackled the clean-up and restoration of an urban tidal marsh.
The 10-acre clean-up site sits at the head of a tidal tributary
receiving water from three urban watersheds. For flood buffering,
erosion control, bank stabilization, water quality improvement,
and economically essential nurseries, the area is key to the
environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay.
At Work in the Wetlands (from left) Margaret Mccalla,
Acting Director, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning;
Rollie Schmitten, Director, Office of Habitat Restoration;
and Bill Hogarth, Acting Assistant Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Rollie Schmitten hauling Phragmites, or common reed,
an invasive species from Asia that crowds out native
marsh grasses.
Mud Wrestlers???
(from left) Bob Taylor, Deputy Director, Office of Marine
and Aviation
Operations; Rollie's everywhere; Stacey Taylor; and Rich Behn,
Executive Director to Deputy Under Secretary.
Policy in Practice
Garry F. Mayer, Deputy Director, Office of Habitat Restoration.
Oklahoma
By donating instead of discarding 60 surplus computers, two
NOAA agencies in Norman are doing even more to protect lives
and property while also advancing the education of Oklahoma
youth. The Radar Operations Center's donation to an Oklahoma
City high school replaces resources destroyed in a fire. Later
this year, the center's staff will on their own time install
a school radio station donated by a private partner organization.
In need of faster, modern computers, Oklahoma's emergency management
agencies just received 20 from the Storm
Prediction Center. The contribution means that people in
20 different counties are now better protected. Initiated by
the center, this was a collaborative effort with the National
Weather Service's Norman forecast office and the Oklahoma
Emergency Managers Association.
Along Southern U.S.
Coast
NOAA's DELAWARE II is on the third leg of a shark cruise
in the slope and shelf waters along the southern coast. The
aim is to monitor the abundance, distribution and species composition
of sharks; to tag sharks for migration studies; and to collect
biological samples for age, growth, feeding ecology, and reproductive
studies. Delaware II completes its cruise and returns
to homeport in Woods Hole, Massachusetts this week.
Oregon
At the weather
service's forecast office in Pendleton, visitors were treated
to an educational open house last week that showcased a wide
array of weather service information and technology. Visitors
were able to see how the Advanced Interactive Processing System
maps weather, how Doppler radar tracks storms, and why ham radio
operators and spotters are so crucial in detecting what's really
happening on the ground. Presentations focused on both current
and future capabilities in aviation forecasts, what public forecasting
actually involves, and the modernized weather service's up-to-the-minute
technology.
Georgia
Gray's Reef National
Marine Sanctuary kicked off its 20th anniversary celebration
on Savannah's sunny, southern riverfront. With over 2,000 guests,
the event was part of OceanFest, the sanctuary's annual ocean
festival. NOAA's R/V FERREL welcomed visitors dockside.
A dozen marine-related organizations, including Sapelo Island
National Estuarine Research Reserve, offered hands-on activities
and information about the vulnerability of coastal landscapes.
Volunteers, including members of the Gray's Reef Student Ocean
Council, fielded questions and encouraged kids to create ocean
art. FERREL Commanding Officer Scott Kuester, and Gray's
Reef manager Reed Bohne judged the annual Kids' Art & Poetry
contest as musicians from the "World Famous Crabettes," featuring
Gray's Reef's own Cathy Sakas entertained. A particular magnet
for the curious, young and adult was the visiting DeepWorker
2000, a demo of the actual submersible being used for Sustainable
Seas, a 5-year project of ocean exploration and conservation.
NOAA's FERREL welcomes tourists
"World Famous Crabettes" musician
Reed Bohne, Gray's Reef manager, educates a new generation
California
In Long Beach, NOAA Fisheries'
southwest region turned Bring Your Child To Work Day into
a show and tell that gave kids a close look at their parents'
work day. Led by regional administrator Rebecca Lent, the ambitious
and interactive agenda covered education about protected species,
talks about boat safety, a "biology" and hardware tour, an examination
of dive gear and, drawing on Sustainable Fisheries' online image
library, a virtual look at animal life in the sea. The day was
a huge hit for the 4-to-10 year old visitors - and their parents.
Bill Jacobson with children Abigail, 7,
Lemuel, 5, and Micah, 3.
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Chris
Fanning with niece Deja Terry, 6, and mock green sea turtle. |
Bryant Chesney (left), geographic information specialist,
and Bob Hoffman, habitat team leader, educate about
value and fragility of coastal habitat.
Lyle Enriquez, fisheries observer coordinator/trainer,
demonstrates a survival suit.
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