Visions and Mission Statements of National Meteorological Services – A Survey 1

Here are the visions and mission statements of 30 National Meteorological Services (NMS) and 2 international meteorological organizations – the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). To collect them, I visited all their respective websites and searched each site for a concise self-description of the host, a clear vision, in either French or English. 2 All such visions that I found are listed below.

Bjarne
February 2001

Bjarne Hansen, Meteorologist
New Brunswick Weather Centre
Meteorological Service of Canada
Environment Canada
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
E-mail: bjarne.hansen@ec.gc.ca

Canada UK
USA France

Australia Purpose

The purpose of the Bureau of Meteorology is to contribute to Australia's social, environmental, economic and cultural goals through the performance of the functions of a National Meteorological Service in the public interest generally and in particular:

(a)
for the purposes of the Defence Force;
(b)
for the purposes of navigation and shipping and of civil aviation; and
(c)
for the purpose of assisting persons and authorities engaged in primary production, industry, trade and commerce.
Mission

The overall mission of the Bureau is to observe and understand Australian weather and climate and provide meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic services in support of Australia's national needs and international obligations. This overall mission involves four separate basic missions:

Monitoring
Observation and data collection to meet the needs of future generations for reliable homogeneous national climatological data;
Research
Research directed to the advancement of meteorological science and the development of a comprehensive description and scientific understanding of Australia's weather and climate;
Services
Provision of meteorological and related data, information, forecast, warning, investigation and advisory services on a national basis; and
International
Coordination of Australia's involvement in international meteorology.
Austria Responsibilities:

ZAMG's responsibilities include all activities usually carried out by a national meteorological and geophysical service:
  • Meteorological and geophysical questions connected to the protection of the environment
  • A climatological and geophysical survey of Austria
  • Practice-oriented research in the complete field of meteorology and geodynamics including related sciences
  • Advisory and counselling service; expert opinions
  • Promotion of international co-operation between meteorology and geodynamics and other sciences
  • Gathering, treatment and storage of the results of meteorological and geophysical examinations
  • Co-operation with domestic and foreign as well as international meteorological and geophysical institutions
  • Information, advice and warning in cases of crises and incidents as well as natural and environmental disasters
    • risk of earthquakes
    • examinations of the ground
    • vibration measurements
    • aspects of climatology and environmental meteorology
    • weather forecasts during construction
  • We provide information and advice to the energy sector for the efficient use of conventional and alternative resources.
  • Research institutions and technicians can use our meteorological and geomagnetical measurement series.
  • We provide immission analyses and forecasts to industry and trade within the framework of examinations on the compatibility with the environment.
  • We supply trade and industry with measurements and evaluations in the field of environmental meteorology and geophysics.
  • These measurements are carried out with sate-of-the-art technology.
  • In agriculture, which is highly dependent on the weather, decisions on the right moment to water the crops and on when to harvest and what pesticides to use are taken with our help.
  • We provide the media with news and forecasts for a period of up to ten days.
  • Law courts and insurance companies use our comprehensive data archive to support their judgements of damage.
  • Our forecasts help the road winter service to increase road safety, reduce personnel cost and cost of material and preserve the environment by using not more than the required amount of grit and thawing agents.
  • Tourism, mountaineering and sports profit both from our specific forecasts and from our world-wide data archive for holiday planning and leisure activities.
  • We use special geophysical methods to solve archaeological problems and find contaminated sites.
  • Brazil CENTER FOR WEATHER FORECASTS AND CLIMATE STUDIES - CPTEC

    The Center for Weather Forecasts and Climate Studies - CPTEC - of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) is the gateway of Brazil to high quality meteorological forecasts. The Center`s supercomputer SX-3/12R, manufactured by NEC Corporation of Japan, has the capacity to process up to 3.2 billion floating point arithmetic operations per second. With this it is possible to use numerical models for simulations of weather and climate, utilizing atmospheric and oceanic information from the whole globe. The results of this objective technique are reliable weather and climate forecasts for the whole country.

    Benefits

    In a country with a large territory like Brazil, with significant climatic variability, high quality meteorological forecasts are necessary for the development of socio-economic activities, especially agriculture. At CPTEC it is possible to foresee arid and humid conditions sufficiently in advance to help decision making for the civil defence, hydro-electric power generation and manangement of hydrological resouces. Also there is an important contribution to the transport, food supply, tourism and passtime sectors. The computer system and the data base at CPTEC will give a big boost to the meteorological research in the country to improve our knowledge of important atmospheric phenomena.

    Bulgaria National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) is the official name of the hydrometeorological service in Bulgaria. NIMH was established in February 1890. Since then its name was changed several times and now NIMH is a component of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Its primary mission is to provide meteorological and hydrological information to different organizations and users in Bulgaria. The mission of NIMH involves both day-to-day operations, theoretical and applied research activities. Hydrological and meteorological observations,data acquisition and telecommunication, monitoring of chemical components in ground water and air quality, meteorological and hydrological forecasts, assistance to special sectors through applied meteorology in agriculture and maritime, maintenance of data base, scientific researches, numerical and statistical modeling and many other tasks are part of the duties of NIMH.

    Core elements of the NIMH are the Central Body in Sofia and 4 Regional Centers in Kustendil, Pleven, Plovdiv and Varna. Their structural units are observatories and observing stations. The territory of the country is covered by 35 observatories and unifying more than 2000 observing stations.

    Each of the Regional Centres organizes the activity of its part of the national observing system, i.e. they collect the data from the observing stations via the observatories and exchange data with the Communication center in Sofia. They provide with the regional users and institutions hydrological and meteorological information, forecasts, etc. Their sub-structure follows the structure of the Central body in Sofia.

    The observatories are meteorological, hydrological or complex. They incorporate some observing stations from their area of responsibility.

    Many of the data are collecting by more of 1200 voluntary observers. The main networks are:

    A) Meteorological network: 31 synoptic stations including 5 stations on mountain peaks; 1 upper-air sounding station; 132 climatic stations; 373 rainfall stations.

    B) Agrometeorological network: 33 agrometeorological; 4 forest stations; 109 phenological posts.

    C) Hydrological network: 236 hydrological stations; 595 wells and springs stations for ground water; 112 stations for suspended sediment samplings, organic matter content determination as well as the specific weight of sediments; 61 stations for grain-size determination.

    D) Air and water pollution network: 1 background pollution station in Rojen; 14 sampling posts for air-pollution monitoring; 224 sampling posts for surface water pollution monitoring; 260 sampling posts for under-ground water pollution monitoring; 21 acid-rain measurement posts; 93 sampling posts for air and water radioactivity.

    Regular meteorological observations have begun since 1887 and systematic hydrological measurements are available since 1920.

    Canada The Meteorological Service of Canada is Canada's source for meteorological information. The Service monitors water quantities, provides information and conducts research on climate, atmospheric science, air quality, ice and other environmental issues, making it an important source of expertise in these areas.

    Read our brochure to find out who we are and what we do for Canadians.

    Mission Statement
    The mission of the Meteorological Service of Canada is to anticipate and respond to the evolving needs and expectations of Canadians and their institutions for meteorological, hydrological and related information and prediction services thereby helping Canadians adapt to their environment in ways which safeguard their health and safety, optimize economic activity and enhance environmental quality.

    The Meteorological Service of Canada:

  • Provides weather forecasts and warnings of extreme weather events and hazardous air quality
  • Monitors atmospheric conditions and the quantity of water in Canadian lakes and rivers
  • Forecasts ice and wave conditions on navigable oceans and inland waters
  • Monitors and predicts the state of the climate
  • Leads the development of atmospheric science and related environmental prediction in Canada
  • Is Canada’s official source for public weather warnings and the principal scientific authority for standards, information and advice on the past, present and future states of the atmosphere, hydrosphere (lakes, rivers and oceans) and cryosphere (snow and ice).

    Source: Meteorological Service of Canada brochure, www.msc.ec.gc.ca/msc_brochure_e.pdf, downloaded February 18, 2001.

  • The Meteorological Service of Canada's first annual report.

    Source: First Annual Report, 2000-2001, Meteorological Service of Canada, www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/media/annual_report/2000-01/index_e.html, downloaded March 2, 2002.

    The Meteorological Service of Canada's second annual report.

    Source: Second Annual Report, 2001-2002, Meteorological Service of Canada, http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/media/annual_report/2001-02/index_e.html, downloaded January 2, 2003.

    The Meteorological Service of Canada's third annual report.

    Source: Third Annual Report, 2002-2003, Meteorological Service of Canada, http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/media/annual_report/2002-03/index_e.html, downloaded February 24, 2004.

    China Basic Facts

    China Meteorological Administration (CMA), an organization of institutional nature, comes immediately under the State Council of P R China. CMA is authorized and empowered to administer the national meteorological service in the governmental capacity, and is charged with the organizational arrangement and coordination of national meteorological affairs.

    Organizational Structure

    CMA exercises duel leadership, a management system in which both sectorial offices and local governments function and command while the former are principal players.

    Denmark A short description of the Danish Meteorological Institute

    The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) was founded in 1872. Now, more than 125 years later, DMI has a staff of 400 employees and more than 600 associated observers, and an annual turnover of 250 million Danish kroner. The main objectives of DMI continue to be the same as in 1872:

  • to make observations
  • to provide forecasts and other information
  • to communicate these to the public
  • to contribute to the development of the meteorological and related geophysical sciences
  • DMI provides meteorological and related services for the community within the large geographical area of the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, the Faroes and Greenland), including surrounding waters and airspace. DMI’s area of activity comprises forecasting and warning services as well as continuous monitoring of weather, sea state, climate, and related environmental conditions in the atmosphere, over land and in the sea.

    Purpose

    The purpose of these activities is to assist in the protection of life and property as well as to provide a basis for economic and environmental planning (aviation, national defence, shipping, agriculture, sporting and recreational events, etc.). Through scientific research and development DMI secures the optimum accomplishment of its tasks and serves the community with up-to-date information.

    Tasks

    Based at Narsarsuaq Airfield in South Greenland, the DMI Ice Observation and Warning Service makes a major contribution to the safety of shipping in the Greenland waters by observing and mapping the extension of sea ice, issuing ice maps and reports, as well as performing other safety-related tasks. The general public-oriented services are provided within the public duties of the Institute, funded by the yearly appropriations in the budget bill, while special services, for example, Road Weather Services, World Wide Weather Routeing for ships, weather information for newspapers, and customer-specialised information systems are carried out as revenue-generating activities. The Institute co-operates with a large number of Danish organisations and companies in its field, and in January 1998 the Danish Climate Centre was established at DMI. The DMI activities are accomplished through extensive international collaboration. The main international organizations and and institutions in which DMI is responsible for the Danish membership are:

    WMO, (the World Meteorological Organization), a specialised agency of the United Nations which organises the work and collaboration of all the national meteorological services
    ECMWF, a European intergovernmental organisation providing global meteorological and oceanographic forecasts
    HIRLAM, a scientific programme of co-operation between the smaller European countries for the development of local and more detailed meteorological forecasting systems
    EUMETSAT, the European meteorological satellite organisation for the establishment, maintenance and exploitation of operational meteorological satellite systems
    EUMETNET, a network of national meteorological services in Europe focusing on basic infrastructure. DMI has been appointed point of contact between the European Environmental Agency and the EUMETNET national meteorological services.
    ECOMET, a European organisation dealing with commercial activities within the meteorological community.
    ICAO, a UN specialised agency which provides Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) for the safe, regular and economic performance of international civil aviation. As Danish Meteorological Authority, DMI provides or arranges for the provisi on of meteorological services in accordance with the above SARP.

    DMI takes part in a number of international research programmes, primarily in projects on environment and climate under the European Commission’s framework programmes for research and technological development. Examples of such activities are DMI’s participation in the European stratospheric ozone experiments, a number of projects focusing on climate variability and regional climate changes, and environmental projects: for instance, in relation to the Nuclear Fission Safety Programme. DMI also plays an active role within the ESA (European Space Agency) Earth Observation Programme.

    Egypt The Importance Of The Meteorological Services For The Different Sectors Of The Country

    The Meteorological Authority provides its services to different sectors of the country in the following manner:

    I- The Meteorological Services for the Civil Aviation Sector:

    The Meteorological Authority provides its services to the Civil Aviation sector through the Met. offices located in the airports and connected to an international information net for supplying the aviation meteorological information.

    The met. offices issue the reports and the weather forecasts to the Egyptian airports , and to airlines which use the Egyptian airports or over flights. These reports include hourly and half-hourly observations of weather in the airports. Warnings and SIGMET are issued in the emergency cases. Air crafts are supplied with complete reports about weather on the flight route.

    The reports are also used in preparing the flight plan to determine the time of flight, gas consumption, permissible weight and others of the aviation economic factors. these offices work 24 hours per day.

    II - The Meteorological services for the Marine Sector:

    The Meteorological Authority presents its services for the marine sector through forecast centres and an international information net for the supplying and exchanging of the meteorological information for the marine field .  these information are useful for choosing the safety routes for the ships and to take the required precautions at the suitable time to avoid the storm areas and bad weather conditions.

    III - Meteorological services for tourism Sector:

    Tourism is influenced by the weather elements as any other activity. EMA is keen on providing tourists and tourist companies with the climatological data and statistics concerning the weather elements in different areas of the country. these information define the most suitable time for the tourist to plan for his trip by choosing the convenient area and time of the year. The 365 sunny days all over the year in Egypt is one of the main factors encouraging the tourism.

    IV- The Meteorological Services for the Agriculture Sector

    The increasing of agriculture wealth depends basically on the meteorological data. The Meteorological authority has started to introduce its services and facilities for the agricultural purposes since 1955. the Meteorological Authority established 8 Meteorological stations for the agricultural purpose to help in the horizontal and vertical expanding of the agricultural production.
    these stations cover the climatological and geographical areas of the whole country.

    V-  The Meteorological services for the construction and Housing Planning:

    The information provided by the Meteorological network can be used for planning of the economical  projects , to establish the factories and choose the most suitable locations for them and to provide the suitable circumstances for production and so to limit the environmental pollution. These information are of great importance when they are taken into consideration, to build new cities especially those related to the wind direction and speed, sun shine and relative humidity to achieve a great deal of the hygienic airing.

    VI- The Meteorological services for the environmental pollution Studies:

    The industrial and technological development and the population increase lead to the appearance of a kind of pollution called environmental pollution whereas the industrial wastes resulting from the factories and car exhausts are increased

    The Meteorological Authority has established 3 stations to measure the background of air pollution in the atmosphere at Sidi Barani, Siwa and Hurghada. These measurements deal with natural components of the atmosphere and are done in areas far from any pollution resulting from the human activities. The Meteorological Authority plays another important role in the field of pollution. It carries out the studies of pollutants movement in the atmosphere. The harm resulting from any kind of pollution will becomes less if the air moves it away of the earth's surface or they become less concentrated when dispersed and moved to far areas; pollution becomes of great danger if the weather situation makes it concentrated on a limited area near to the earth's surface.

    When environmental disaster happened as Charnoble nuclear pile’ explosion in 1981,  Meteorology plays an important role to follow the trajectories of these pollutants through the studying of air movement in the different upper air layers. It is worth mentioning that the Meteorological Authority is the only institution in Egypt that measures the Ozone quantity in the upper air layers daily and regularly since 1986.

    These measurements are done in 2 stations located in Cairo and Aswan.

    In the field of clean energy the solar radiation measurements in addition to the regular weather observation give the Meteorology an outlined role in the fields of solar and wind power.

    As there are many fears of weather changes and their influences on the environment, the Meteorological Authority experts and scientists carry out some researches to monitor the weather, its changes and the effect of the weather changes on the society and on the national economy.

    VII- The Meteorological services in the field of scientific research:

    The Authority is involved in theoretical and applied researches in many fields as:

     a ) Forecasting Field:

    The Met. Authority has developed a model for numerical weather prediction; actually this model is continuously tested and modified to increase the accuracy of its out products.

     b ) Physical Research Field:

    The Met. Authority established 10 stations to measure the solar radiation components . One of them is a regional center for radiation. It also established a scientific calibration laboratory to calibrate the radiation instruments on the international and local levels and two stations to measure the total quantity and vertical distribution of Ozone.

     c ) The Climatological changes Field:

    The Met. Authority contributes in the international researches on the climatic changes and the impact of the atmospheric warming on life elements. Researches have been accomplished about the study of regular changes of rains above Alexandria city ,  the changes of the Nile flood and the total quantity of Ozone above Cairo.

     d ) The Hydrology Field:

    The Met. Authority is running a Meteorological on shore station in Aswan ,  a floating one in front of the High Dam , and a hydroclimatological one in Abu Simble .  It carries out the required researches to estimate the water losses in the High dam lake.

     e ) The Special Researches Field:

    The Authority carries out researches for special purposes  whether for the civil sectors or the military sector according to special agreements between the two parties.

    ECMWF The objectives of the centre

    The principal objectives of the Centre are:

  • the development of numerical methods for medium-range weather forecasting;
  • the preparation, on a regular basis, of medium-range weather forecasts for distribution to the meteorological services of the Member States;
  • scientific and technical research directed to the improvement of these forecasts;
  • collection and storage of appropriate meteorological data.
  • In addition, the Centre:

  • makes available a proportion of its computing facilities to its Member States for their research;
  • assists in implementing the programmes of the World Meteorological Organisation;
  • provides advanced training to the scientific staff of the Member States in the field of numerical weather prediction;
  • makes the data in its extensive archives available to outside bodies.
  • Fiji Our Vision

    To achieve excellence in meteorological science, and the provision of quality weather and climate services.

    Our Mission

    To provide meteorological expertise and professional services in support of Fiji's economic development, and for the safety and benefit of the community . In parallel to the national interest, and consistent with its newly assigned role of a Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for Tropical Cyclones under the World Weather Watch Programme of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the Fiji Meteorological Service aims to deliver quality forecast, warning and advisory services to the South Pacific island nations and territories falling within the area of responsibility.
    Finland The Finnish Meteorological Institute is a research and service agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

    The main objective of the FMI is to provide the Finnish nation with the best possible information about the atmosphere above and around Finland, for ensuring public safety relating to atmospheric and airborne hazards and for satisfying requirements for specialized meteorological products.

    Customer services

    We produce weather services to meet customer demands.

    Almost all our weather products are custom made. The customer is able to define the content of a service together with our specialists.

    You just name your service need, and we provide you the best possible solution!

    France Implantation en métropole.

    La notion d'échelle marque la connaissance des phénomènes météorologiques, depuis les vastes systèmes de pression qui s'étendent sur plusieurs milliers de kilomètres jusqu'aux phénomènes de brise de vallées qui soufflent sur quelques kilomètres. L'exploitation météorologique s'articule autour d'un double mouvement de l'échelle locale vers l'échelle globale suivi d'un retour à l'échelle locale : observation locale, concentration des mesures, analyse et prévision à l'échelle globale, diffusion des résultats, adaptation locale, distribution aux usagers. L'organisation de Météo-France, répond à cette réalité, au moyen d'une structure opérationnelle à 3 niveaux :

  • le centre national de Toulouse (SCEM ) est à la fois le point d'ancrage de la France sur le système mondial de transmission de données et le centre de traitement a l'échelle globale,
  • les 93 Centres Départementaux (cf. carte) de la Météorologie prennent en charge l'échelon local,
  • et entre les deux échelons précédents, les centres régionaux, 7 en métropole (cf. carte) et 4 outre-mer , jouent un rôle essentiel dans le relais des informations et l'adaptation des prévisions.
  • A cette structure s'ajoutent des centres spécialisés comme :

  • le Centre de Météorologie Spatiale
  • le Centre d'études de la Neige
  • le Centre de Météorologie Marine
  • le Centre d'Aviation Météorologique
  • Les services opérationnels sont soutenus par les services techniques suivants :

  • Ecole (ENM)
  • Recherche (CNRM)
  • Instruments (DSO)
  • Communication et Commercialisation (S3C).
  • La Direction Générale se trouve à Paris.

    L'ENM, le SCEM et le CNRM sont regroupés sur la Météopole de Toulouse.

    Germany Our Statutory Tasks

  • The provision of meteorological services
  • The meteorological safeguarding of aviation and shipping
  • The issuing of warnings about dangerous weather phenomena
  • Short and long-term recording, monitoring, and evaluation of meteorological processes in the atmosphere, its structure and composition
  • The recording of interactions between the atmosphere and other environmental spheres
  • The forecasting of meteorological processes
  • The monitoring of the atmosphere for radioactive trace elements and the forecasting of their dissemination
  • The operation of the necessary measuring and observation systems
  • The provision, storage, and documentation of meteorological data and products
  • See also the Law on the Deutscher Wetterdienst

    Structure and Organization of the DWD

    The Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service) is divided up into five Business Areas. The President is supported by the Staff Divisions Public Relations/Press Officer and President’s Office/International Affairs. The Board of Directors of the DWD comprises the heads of the five Business Areas and the President as Chairman of the Board.

    The Business Areas Personnel and Business Administration, Technical Infrastructure, and Meteorological Research and Development constitute internal service units. Business Area Basic Services provides basic forecasts for the specialist areas (e.g. Regional Centres), the Business Units of the DWD, the German Military Geophysical Service and fulfils the important task of issuing warnings of dangerous weather phenomena. Universities, scientific institutions and private meteorological companies also obtain their meteorological information here. The service provided by the eight Business Units of the Business Area Advisory and Forecasting Services can be seen by clicking the links.

    Around 2,700 staff members at more than 130 locations in Germany - this is our idea of overall presence. With our six major branch offices in Hamburg, Potsdam, Essen, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Munich, as well as our headquarters in Offenbach, we can be found in every region of the Federal Republic. With our approximately 20 further smaller branches, there is always a contact in your vicinity in Germany.

    Hong Kong Performance Pledge

    The following tells you about the standard of weather services that you can expect from the Hong Kong Observatory and the steps you can take if you want to make any comments or complaints about these services.

    Services Delivered

    This performance pledge covers the following services -

    • General weather forecasting
    • Special forecasts for international aviation and shipping and organizations whose operations are weather-sensitive

    The Central Forecasting Office of the Hong Kong Observatory operates round-the-clock, producing regular weather bulletins for dissemination through the press, radio and television and other communication services as required. Bulletins include, as necessary, warnings of tropical cyclones, rainstorms, thunderstorms, landslips, flooding, storm surges, fire danger, low temperatures and strong monsoon winds.

    The same weather information is directly available to the public through our Dial-a-Weather service (Cantonese: 187 8200, English: 187 8066) or to anyone subscribing to other public information dissemination systems (to enquire about these systems, telephone Hong Kong Telecom 014, or Motorola Air Communications Limited at 2599 2888).

    In addition to the weather services for the public, we provide special weather services for international aviation and shipping and organizations whose operations are weather-sensitive, such as power utilities and transport operators.

    If your organization's operations too are weather-sensitive, you are welcome to make prior arrangements with us for the necessary advice to be given to you at a specified time or when the weather deteriorates to a particular level.

    Performance Standards and Targets

    • Timeliness

    We are committed to issuing at least one bulletin every hour of the day to the public, giving an update of the air temperature in various regions of Hong Kong and any weather warnings which may be currently in force. We aim at disseminating the bulletins within 10 minutes after each hour.

    All departing international flights are supplied with meteorological documentation conforming to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Such information is made available to airlines two hours or more before the scheduled time of departure to meet requirements of airlines.

    For the marine community, we aim at disseminating weather bulletins and warnings to the broadcasting stations 15 minutes or more before the scheduled time of broadcast.

    • Accuracy

    While the Observatory has advanced equipment to monitor and computers to predict the movement and development of weather systems in the vicinity of Hong Kong, tomorrow's weather forecast is ultimately the product of the professional knowledge and collective experience of our staff.

    Public perception surveys indicate that the accuracy of our forecasts over the last few years has been between 72% and 76%. We will strive to improve on these levels.

    Our special forecasts for international aviation and shipping are consistently rated by over 90% of aircraft and ships' captains as being accurate or very accurate. We will strive to maintain this level of achievement.

    • Service

    All telephone enquiries will be received attentively and answered professionally and politely.

    All written enquiries will be responded to within 10 days in the way of either an interim or a full reply.

    All meetings with us will be held in clean, bright and comfortable surroundings. Our staff will be friendly, helpful and professional.

    Performance Monitoring

    The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory is responsible for ensuring that the performance standards and targets are achieved.

    An independent market research company will be commissioned to conduct at least two surveys each year to gauge the public's perception of the accuracy of forecasts issued by the Observatory. The survey results will be published annually.

    Assessments of accuracy and other comments will be sought at regular intervals from users of our special weather forecasts.

    We have set up a customer liaison group to provide a more formal forum for direct communication and exchange of views between the Observatory and users of aviation meteorological services and are looking into the possibility of setting up other customer liaison groups.

    Israel Background

    The Israel Meteorological Service (IMS) was founded in 1936 and since 1948 it has been operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport, recently as an independent subsidiary unit. In 1962, the Israel Meteorological Service was moved to Bet Dagan as a Government project, with the support of the World Meteorological Organization and with the aid of a special UN fund.

    The overall task of the IMS is to observe and understand the weather and climate of Israel and to provide meteorological information required by Israel's national needs and international obligations, as a full WMO member. The activities of the IMS include:

  • Providing weather forecasts and warnings to the general public through the mass media and warnings to aviation, industry, marine operations, agriculture, defence forces, etc.
  • Supervising meteorological services for aviation as the official Israeli "Designated Authority" according to International Civil Aviation Organization Convention.
  • Establishing, operating and maintaining a national network of stations including synoptic, climatological, agrometeorological and research stations.
  • Establishing, operating and maintaining a national data bank of basic meteorological data.
  • Conducting applied meteorological research to advance scientific understanding of Israel's weather and climate.
  • Co-ordinating Israel's involvement in International Meteorology, through membership in the World Meteorological Organization. Operating a WMO Regional Meteorological Training Center (RMTC) which organizes short courses in applied meteorology and agrometeorology.
  • Japan Outline

    The National Meteorological Service in Japan was started in 1875 at the Tokyo Meteorological Observatory (TMO) established in the Ministry of the Interior. TMO was given the new name, the Central Meteorological Observatory (CMO) in 1887, which was placed under control of the Ministry of Education. In 1956, CMO became an external organ of the Ministry of Transport and was renamed the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

    JMA is responsible for contributing to the improvement of public welfare including natural disaster prevention and mitigation, safety of transportation, prosperity of industries, and international co-operation activities.

    The major activities are:

    1. to issue warnings, advisories and forecasts in short-range, one-week and long-range;
    2. to deal with the global environmental issues such as global warming and ozone depletion;
    3. to provide information on earthquake and volcanic activities.

    Since more comprehensive meteorological information is increasingly required in the development of our socio-economic system, JMA has been making every effort in improving the forecasts, in facilitating the climate-related activities, and in making the tsunami and earthquake prediction systems sophisticated.

    Nepal Introduction

    DHM has a mandate from HMG/N to monitor all the hydrological and meteorological activities in Nepal. No agency is entitled to carry out such activities without a proper liaison with DHM. The scope of work includes the monitoring of river hydrology, climate, agrometeorology, sediment, air quality, water quality, limnology, snow hydrology, glaciology, and wind and solar energy. General and aviation weather forecasts are the regular services provided by DHM. As a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), DHM contributes to the global exchange of meteorological data on a regular basis. DHM actively participates in the programs of relevant international organisations, such as, the UNESCO's International Hydrological Program (IHP) and WMO's Operational Hydrology Program (OHP). In the past, DHM has hosted several regional and international workshops, symposia, seminars and meetings on different aspects of meteorology, hydrology, sediment, and snow hydrology. The department is also a focal point for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and for the meteorological activities of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has recognised DHM as an authority to provide meteorological services for international flights.

    The Principal Activities of DHM

  • Collect and disseminate hydrological and meteorological information for water resources, agriculture, energy, and other development activities.
  • Issue hydrological and meteorological forecasts for public, mountaineering expedition, civil aviation, and for the mitigation of natural disasters.
  • Conduct special studies required for the policy makers and for the development of hydrological and meteorological sciences in the region.
  • Promote relationship with national and international organisations in the field of hydrology and meteorology.
  • Netherlands Research at KNMI

    The tasks of KNMI are twofold :

  • KNMI is an operational centre, responsible for weather forecasting, for observing weather and climate, and for the monitoring of seismic activity
  • KNMI is the national research and information centre for climate, climatic change and seismology.
  • Research at KNMI is, therefore, both applied as well as theoretical :

  • Applied Research
    is aimed at improving the quality, usefulness and accessibility of meteorological and oceanographical data (observations and model data), in support of operational forecasting and other applications of weather and waves.
  • Climate Research
    Research on oceanography; atmospheric research; the chemical composition of the atmosphere (e.g. ozone); predictability of weather and climate; the analysis of climate, climate variability and climatic change, and model support .
  • Policy support to the Dutch Government with respect to climate and climatic change.
  • Seismology (in Dutch only) Research on as well as monitoring of seismic activity (earthquakes)
  • New Zealand About Us

    MetService gathers, analyses and provides weather information for the public of New Zealand, and for a wide range of domestic and foreign commercial customers, including the Minister of Transport (with whom we have a significant contract).

    For more information on us and our business units (Aviation, Information Presentation Services, National Weather Services), visit our Corporate Information pages.

    Norway The basic function of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (DNMI) is to contribute to the protection of life and property. This is laid down in DNMI's regulations, as established by Royal Decree. According to these regulations, DNMI also shall provide special meteorological services to customers on a commercial basis. The main objective and the aims for the activities of DNMI are outlined within this scope.

    Basic Functions

    DNMI provides the public meteorological services for both civil and military purposes. DNMI shall provide services for the authorities, commerce and industry, institutions and the general public, for protection of their interests, for protection of life and property, for planning and for protection of the environment. The duties of DNMI include:

    • issue weather forecasts
    • study the national climatological conditions and produce climatological reports
    • provide meteorological observations from Norway, adjacent sea areas, and from the Svalbard area
    • carry out research and development in support of the operational functions, to ensure that the services are of the highest possible standard
    • make available the results of its work
    • provide special services for the public and private interests on a commercial basis
    • participate in the international meteorological cooperation

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    Vision

    DNMI shall be a centre of excellence on meteorological conditions relevant for Norway, and the results of its competence shall be used as a tool for the general public, the authorities, commerce and industry in their decisionmaking for short term and for the future.

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    Goals

    • DNMI shall provide meteorological services that in content and quality meet the requirements of society. In order to meet both present and future requirements, DNMI shall carry out relevant research and development activities.

    • DNMI's activities shall, at all levels, from the collection of observations to the final forecasting product, be based on an effective and modern atmospheric and ocean forecasting system.

    • DNMI shall provide expertise on climate conditions at global and national scale and shall at any time be able to provide climatological information for monitoring and planning purposes, and as input to the formulation of the national climate policy.

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    Main Activities

    The main activities are core activities financed by the Government and commercial services.

    Core Activities

    • Observations: Operation, data collection and transmission of national and international observational data
    • Research and development financed by the Government: developing and improving of operational models, tasks related to environmental emergency services, and general climate research
    • Weather forecasting: Analyses, prognoses, general forecasts and warnings, emergency preparedness
    • Climatological services: Observations, databases and general climatological information

    Commercial Services

    • Products and services tailored to customer requirements
    • Services for aviation
    • Commercial climatological services: Specialized weather and climatological information, climatological data, statistics and environmental data from the Continental Shelf
    • Commissions and reports: Atmosphere and sea impact analyses, transport models of marine pollution and air pollution, quantitative precipitation calculations, regional and local climatology, calculations of extremes and application of climatological data

    National and international observations are essential for the provision of meteorological services to society. Commercial activities depend on a high quality of the core activities. Effective systems for collection and distribution of data and products, sufficient computing capacity and access to super computing resources are vital to perform the primary activities.

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    International Cooperation

    DNMI's work is dependent on extensive international cooperation. International exchange of data, technology and methodology is necessary. The atmosphere knows no national boundaries, and to prepare forecasts, DNMI needs access to observational data from all over the world.

    Common international measurement techniques and standards can only be achieved through international cooperation. High capacity communication and data handling systems for exchange of data and products are the result of extensive cooperative activities.

    Norway is Member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). DNMI is actively involved in the work of these organizations.

    The European meteorological institutes have also entered into a number of formal and informal cooperative agreements in order to exploit common resources to the benefit of all. One example is ECOMET, an economic interest grouping of the meteorological services.

    Another is EUMETNET, a network for cooperation with defined subject areas for a more costeffective exploitation of the resources.

    Philippines Our Mission

    To provide typhoon and flood warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and services primarily for the protection of life and property and in support of economic and productivity and sustainable development. To conduct research and development for the improvement of such services.
    Russia Providing Users With Hydrometeorological Information And Information On The Environmental Pollution

    User informational support is based on technology comprised from four basic systems:

    Data acquisition
    Data collecting
    Information processing

    Types of the informational products provided:

    Actual hydrometeorological and heliogeophysical information, information on environmental pollution

    Meteorological forecasts of:
  • natural hydrometeorological hazards
  • precipitation
  • cloudiness
  • weather phenomena
  • surface wind direction and velocity
  • River hydrological forecasts of:

  • water-level and discharge
  • reservoirs water inflow
  • ice events dates
  • flood-stages
  • flows
  • dates of river breakups and ice melting on lakes and reservoirs
  • dates of freezing up for rivers, lakes and reservoirs
  • minimal water levels for navigable rivers
  • Sea hydrological forecasts of:

  • ice conditions
  • roughness
  • sea level
  • currents
  • hazardous phenomena
  • recommendations on safe and optimal shipping routes
  • Agrometeorological forecasts of:

  • winter grain crops conditions after wintering
  • wintering outcome for perennial sown herbs and fruit crops
  • productive water storage in the soil layer one meter deep by the beginning of spring
  • gross yields, ripening dates and dates of harvesting for main agricultural crops (separately for specific crops and areas)
  • Aviation forecasts of:

  • airdrome weather
  • significant weather events and jet streams at high altitudes
  • wind direction and velocity at high altitudes
  • significant weather events and jet streams at low altitudes
  • wind direction and velocity at low altitudes
  • Heliogeophysical forecasts of:

  • flares
  • geomagnetic storms
  • irradiation dose along the path of space crafts
  • density and composition variations in the upper atmosphere
  • circumterrestrial space and upper atmosphere pollution
  • Restricted reference information:

  • Restricted reference data banks contain the following information:
  • meteorological data, including that collected from towers and masts
  • upper air data, including results of aircraft and rocket sounding
  • hydrological data for rivers and channels
  • hydrological data for lakes, reservoirs and swamps
  • oceanographic data
  • marine hydrometeorological, hydraulic and river estuaries data
  • aerometeorological marine data
  • agrometeorological data
  • synoptic data
  • actinometric data
  • radar data
  • observational data on atmospheric electricity
  • State water cadastre - a systematized fund of data on water resources, water regimes, quality and use. The cadastre is maintained in cooperation with other agencies. ROSGIDROMET is responsible for the "Surface Waters" section.
  • Avalanche cadastre - systematized materials on spreading out and regimes of avalanches (issued every 5 years).
  • Data and products dissemination
    Singapore About Us

    MSS is a department under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. It provides various weather information and forecasts in support of our national needs. Our Functions and our Operational Systems:

    Our Functions are:

  • To make, collect, process and exchange weather observations
  • To provide weather forecasts and data for aviation, shipping and the public
  • To conduct research and development to enhance its services
  • To compile and archive climatological records of Singapore
  • To promote and participate in international cooperation programmes in meteorology
  • Our Operational Systems include:

  • Meteorological Data Collection System
  • Meteorological Data Processing System
  • Meteorological Data Communication System
  • Solomon Islands The general purposes and functions of the meteorological service shall be to
    1. advise the Government on all matters relating to meteorology;
    2. promote the most effective use of meteorological services;
    3. further the science of meteorology, with special reference to Solomon Islands;
    4. establish and maintain a national network of meteorology stations and observing stations ensuring a high standard of quality;
    5. provide information and advise the Government of severe weather conditions likely to affect the safety of human life or property in Solomon Islands;
    6. provide meteorology services in order to ensure the safety and efficiency of aviation and marine services;
    7. provide meteorological data and advice in support of selected national development projects and other important weather sensitive economic activities;
    8. collect, collate, archive and make available meteorological data as requested for the purpose of assisting persons and authorities engaged in primary production, industry, trade and commerce;
    9. co-operate with any authority administering meteorological services and other country;
    10. participate in the work of the appropriate international organizations particularly in the World Meteorological Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization;
    11. make arrangements and enter into any contract or agreement with any ministry, authority or person in Solomon Islands or outside Solomon Islands to compile and record meteorological reports and information;
    12. arrange means of communication for the transmission and reception of meteorological reports and information in Solomon Islands or outside Solomon Islands;and
    13. conduct or make arrangements for the training of persons in meteorology.
    South Africa Vision
    To contribute significantly to the sustainable socio-economic development of South Africa

    Mission

    In consideration of:

  • The social and economic benefits that accrue to all the peoples of South Africa from the provision of meteorological services
  • The need for monitoring the environment for the enlightened management of the resources of the country
  • The requirement for national, regional and international cooperation for the development of meteorological services and capacity building and
  • The commitment to comply with UN conventions, to participate in, and contribute to the activities of international organisations and research initiatives
  • The South African Weather Bureau set as its MISSION

    To strive to provide a cost-effective and efficient meteorological service to safeguard life and property, to improve social and economic structures and to protect the environment

    In order to achieve this mission, the following goals will be persued:

  • To maintain, extend and improve the quality of meteorological service to the benefit of all South Africans
  • To improve human resource development for transformation within the Weather Bureau (capacity building)
  • To involve all sectors of civil society in the planning of service delivery to comply with the goals of the RDP
  • To provide services that are sensitive to the demographic realities of the country to comply with the goals of the RDP
  • To foster and maintain a contented workforce committed to the transformation process
  • To address representativeness and affirmative action
  • To fullfil obligations of the State in the provision of regional and international services.
  • Swaziland Swaziland Meteorological Service
    The service that provides weather and climate related data and information on Swaziland.

    General Objective

    The general objective of the Service is to provide Meteorological services in support of the social and economic development of the country.
    Sweden SMHI, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, is an authority with extensive service and business operations. SMHI offers comprehensive competence within the areas of meteorology, hydrology and oceanography.

    General forecasts and severe warnings are processed to provide forecasts tailored to meet the specific needs of different sectors of society. The products and services, including consulting assignments, are frequently used by authorities and by Swedish and international trade and industry.

    Switzerland The MeteoSwiss

    The MeteoSwiss is a national weather service. As such, it fulfils its meteorological tasks for the use of the public, businesses, and public institutions.

    The MeteoSwiss co-operates closely with other European weather services and international meteorological organisations.

    United Kingdom

    A new vision ...

    Redefining our presence

    The Met Office is being redefined. Fundamental changes are starting to happen as we enter a new chapter in our history. For 140 years, we have been the UK’s national weather service. We also provide services to other government departments and to a wide range of companies in commerce, industry and the media, with our TV weather forecasters familiar to most people. Developments in computing, telecommunications and satellite meteorology have transformed our work into the hi-tech business it is today. Although much of this work is aimed at improving weather forecast accuracy, it provides a solid base from which we can take on the challenges of wider natural environment issues.

    Our vision of broadening our activities into the natural environment means we will no longer be focusing on just the weather’. We will look at the impacts of the weather on the environment and are already expanding into more environmental science services.

    You will be seeing increasing evidence of new business opportunities, innovations in services and product delivery, closer co-operation with our European partners, and much more.

    The Met Office is now heading in this new direction, building a sounder basis for our future. The time has come for a new beginning — a change of image with a refreshing corporate identity featuring our new logo.

    Met Office Vision

    Through unrivalled know-how, to enable individuals, society and enterprises everywhere to make the most of the weather and the natural environment.”

    A new direction ...

    Diversifying within the environment

    We will be able to provide you with growing range of services in environmental sciences, including hydrology, oceanography and their impacts on your business.

  • Opening Joint Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Research
  • Working on our new Global Environmental Model
  • Leading the way on environmental stress issues- `Water wars`
  • This is a natural development for us since meteorology has such close links with these other aspects of the environment.”

    Embracing the internet

    We are making tailored products accessible through the latest digital technologies.

  • New web site and mobile weather service launched
  • `Electronic government` target achieved
  • New internet-based service for retailers
  • We are now exploiting the latest digital technologies, such as mobile phones and the internet, to enhance our global capability.”

    Our new web site now at www.metoffice.gov.uk

    Innovation and collaboration

    Developing innovative solutions

    We will build our unrivalled know-how to develope new ideas, products and services to enhance your business.

  • Customer innovation Centre available March 2001
  • The Weather and Health Initiative - forecasting the demands for the NHS
  • We need to come up with new ideas for services, new and better ways of working. Innovation and improvement are vital if we are to develop in new fields.”

    Encouraging European collaboration

    We will extend co-operation and foster more partnerships within the European `weather` community.

  • Improving provision of more-accurate forecasts to other European national meteorological services
  • Leading a European consortium to better exploit meteorological satallite data in numerical weather prediction
  • We will be sharing resources, talking to other meteorological services in Europe, and working together with other interested organisations, like NATO for example.”

    A new identity ...

    Our new logo is ambitious and energetic. It emphasises movement and energy, implying that we are entering a period of change. Different people will see different things in the design of our new logo, but we believe it sums up the main goals we’re working towards in our vision for the future of the Met Office.
    United States of America
    Our Vision is to be:
    America's no surprise weather service. A world-class team of professionals who:

  • Produce and deliver quality forecasts you can trust when you need them most
  • Use cutting edge techniques
  • Provide services in a cost-effective manner
  • Strive to eliminate weather-related fatalities and improve the economic value of weather information
  • Our Values are:

  • Service above self
  • Our customers and partners
  • Respect and trust of others and the diversity of our agency
  • Open exchange of information and ideas
  • Commitment to integrity, teamwork, self-improvement, high standards, and the scientific approach to our mission
  • An innovative and empowered work force
  • Our focus through 2005 will be to build on the NWS modernization and provide a seamless suite of weather, water, and climate products and services with time scales ranging from minutes to years. These products will be relevant to user needs, accurate, and timely.

    This strategic plan, through the goals, objectives, and performance measures, lays out the path we will take to accomplish our mission, achieve the focus and vision, and integrate our core values throughout NWS:

    www.nws.noaa.gov/pub/sp/stplnall.pdf

    Source: Vision 2005 — National Weather Service Strategic Plan for Weather, Water, and Climate Services, August 1999, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, www.nws.noaa.gov/pub/sp/stplnall.pdf, downloaded March 9, 2001.

    National Weather Service Science and Technology Infusion Plan -- A Roadmap to 2025

    Executive Summary

    Over the last 20 years of the twentieth century, National Weather Service (NWS) science and technology (S&T) infusion focused on the Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR), involving the implementation of major technological systems and restructuring of field operations. The S&T advances accompanying the MAR have led to operational improvements in warnings, forecasts, and other products and services reducing risk to society and the economy. With the MAR now complete, the NWS is planning for the S&T advances necessary to support improved product and service capabilities and organizational efficiency and productivity in the first decades of the twenty-first century.

    In this S&T Infusion Plan (STIP), the challenge of planning NWS S&T infusion for the greatest socio-economic benefit of the Nation is approached first by defining an overarching vision for 2025: There are no unanticipated weather, water, climate, or related environmental (WWCE) events impacting the Nation. In support of this vision, The NWS openly and freely provides the world s most accurate and highest quality WWCE data, products, and information in a seamless data base easy to access and use for any application or purpose. Next, NWS S&T capabilities needed to reach this vision are identified from the present to 2025. In particular, three planning time frames, near- (NWS Today, circa 2005), mid- (NWS Next, circa 2010), and far-term (NWS After Next, circa 2011), are adopted for organizing discussion of current and target capabilities for major elements of the forecast and information-generation process: observations , data assimilation and numerical prediction, forecast techniques and product/information preparation, and dissemination. Also included are necessary advances in enabling technologies -- principally computing, communications, and data extraction or visualization and fundamental understanding of physical and chemical processes occurring in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, oceans, and land surface.

    Today, the NWS provides weather, hydrological, and climate warning and forecast services to the public and other customers. Field forecasters integrate observations, output from various numerical prediction models enhanced with statistical techniques, and other types of guidance and decision assistance tools to produce forecasts and warnings for time-periods ranging from minutes (for severe weather) to seasonal and intra-annual (for anomalous temperature and precipitation). Satellite and other automated observing systems for surface conditions, rivers, streams, and lakes, atmospheric state, and the oceans, are supplemented with a variety of observations, such as those supplied by cooperative observers, ships, and in-flight avionics systems. Several times each day, observations are used to initialize regional- and global-scale numerical prediction models run centrally at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Week-2 forecasts are updated daily, and seasonal outlooks for general climate trends are generated on a monthly basis. These products, with accompanying automated model interpretation, are transmitted to forecast offices, where they are interactively displayed on AWIPS systems for use in developing forecasts and warnings. Local-scale models, such as workstation-Eta and others, are run experimentally at many WFOs. The Internet is used to transmit and display data and products on an auxiliary basis. Warnings and forecasts are disseminated to the public and private sectors over NOAA Weather Radio, and other electronic and print media. Increases of observation and product data streams are generated with ongoing improvements: more complete sampling; more accurate, more comprehensive (parameters, resolution, outlook length) prediction methods; advances in forecast techniques pose challenges for supporting computing and communications technologies.

    By NWS Next, advances in computing power, communications, and other enabling technologies will provide the capabilities for more representative observations from a variety of new sources, for advances in numerical prediction, and in forecast techniques and product/information preparation. Advanced data assimilation techniques will make efficient use of the vastly expanded observational data, from satellite and other remote sensing platforms, in conjunction with in situ upper-air and surface measurements. Models will be run at ever finer resolutions for local, regional, and global applications; probabilistic forecasts for growing numbers of parameters will take advantage of amply populated ensembles. Adopting a common modeling framework will facilitate information sharing and connectivity among models for all spatial scales. Model output and interpretation tools will be provided to field forecasters in increasingly convenient formats for rapid interactive processing and advanced decision assistance. Dissemination to the public and other customers will rely on flexible alternative pathways to optimize accessibility and usefulness of both generic and specially-requested products.

    By 2025, S&T advances will enable the NWS After Next to become more efficient and productive and provide seamless weather, water, climate, and related environmental information of greatly increased quality and quantity relative to today. A multi-dimensional data base will integrate observations, numerical prediction, climatological data, and human forecaster input, with accompanying uncertainty metrics for real-time, user-friendly access. More comprehensive observations will expand reliance on systems that adaptively target regions and features critical for reducing forecast uncertainty. Observational data will be ingested in common-framework numerical prediction systems that describe environmental processes operating over space and time scales ranging from meters and minutes to thousands of kilometers and years, for time periods nearing the limits of predictability. Ensembles, with sufficient numbers of members to represent adequately uncertainty in both initial conditions and models, will provide a basis for extended probabilistic forecasts. All information in the data base will be available to forecasters and other users. Accurate forecasts and warnings will be disseminated over multiple media, with sufficient lead times for mitigating actions. Advanced public and private-sector interactive data mining, decision aide, and visualization techniques will support customized interpretation and applications.

    The STIP is a living document outlining target capabilities, which will necessarily be revised as key aspects change. From it will emanate cooperative action plans aimed at specific R&D-to- operational transitions. These action plans will focus on quick and efficient ways to perform critical elements of the infusion process, including testing and training. Finally, this S&T plan is one piece of an emerging integrated planning effort considering factors such as evolving customer needs, agency missions, budgetary, and organizational changes, etc., all affecting the NWS and influencing the S&T direction the agency takes over the next 25 years.

    Source: Title: National Weather Service Science and Technology Infusion Plan -- A Roadmap to 2025, Draft: July 27, 2001 U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ost/tip/NWS_TIP.pdf, downloaded March 2, 2002.

    National Weather Service

    A High Impact Agency... we make a difference

    Reinvention Goals for 2000
    Status - August 2000

    The National Weather Service (NWS) has a direct impact on the well-being of America and a history of accomplishment as a designated NPR "High Impact Agency." The successful completion of a $4.5 billion investment program in weather service modernization has dramatically improved NWS performance, especially for warnings of dangerous weather, and is making a significant contribution to the American economy. At the same time, restructuring office operations has closed 184 offices. Continued improvements in the context of the five reinvention goals for the NWS are reported below.

    Delivering Great Service Internal Reinvention
    Goal: NWS-01 Goal: NWS-04
    Goal: NWS-02 Goal: NWS-05
    Goal: NWS-03

    Delivering Great Service

    Goal: NWS-01 Generate annual savings to the economy by improving the quality and utility of environmental forecasts and services.

    Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley said, "Weather is big business. It can help or hurt a community. One-seventh of our economy, about $1 trillion a year, is weather sensitive." The innovative use of weather, water and climate information is increasing our safety and productivity and improving the Nation's competitiveness to enhance our standard of living. For example, the highly accurate long-range predictions issued by our Climate Prediction Center for the 1997-98 El Nino led California to conduct major mitigation efforts that led to a reduction in losses of about $1 billion.

    As an NPR-designated "high-impact agency," the National Weather Service leads NOAA's participation in the Natural Disaster Reduction Initiative (NDRI), a program that seeks to reduce the costs of natural disasters to society and the U.S. economy by improving the quality and utility of environmental forecasts and services. Following are examples of how we support this program:

  • Improved Hydrologic Services: Flood damages average about $4.5 billion a year and more than 10 million U.S. households are located in high risk flood areas. This year, the NWS began implementing a national program, called Advanced Hyrdrologic Prediction Services (AHPS), that will improve river forecasts. AHPS provides emergency and water managers with additional time to prepare for floods and droughts with better information and improved accuracy reducing the economic impact of floods on communities. AHPS provides new forecast products depicting the magnitude and probability of occurrence for river conditions from days to several months in the future. Because improved services upstream can yield safety and economic benefits downstream, this year we began implementing AHPS on tributaries of the upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Red River of the North river basins (portions of West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota this year). National implementation of AHPS promises to save lives and benefit the National economy by $600 million each year through fewer flood losses and improved water resource management and will extend current short term river forecasts out to weeks and months.

  • Improved Aviation Services: Weather delays within the National Airspace System (NAS) approach nearly $2.5 billion annually. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study for O'Hare Field in Chicago, found that a 30 minute lead-time for identifying cloud ceiling or visibility events could minimize the number of weather delays by 20 to 35 percent. Nationally, this could save between $500 million to $875 million annually. To meet this need, we developed a new Collaborative Convective Forecast Product (CCFP) to enhance air traffic flow on an expedited basis as requested by the Federal Aviation Administration and air carriers. On April 1, 2000, our Aviation Weather Center began producing the CCFP as an operational product. Initially, AWC will produce the CCFP during the thunderstorm season (March through October). As a result, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) and air carriers can now make strategic routing and dispatch decisions based, in part, on these forecasts. These forecast products will continually be improved in the future.

  • Improving our Weather Technology: When killer tornados tore through Oklahoma and Kansas in May 1999, our Norman, Oklahoma, weather forecast office issued warnings up to 30 minutes in advance of some of the twisters. The office credits the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), a powerful data presentation system, for helping the team quickly and accurately assess the weather conditions and get out warnings; the media called our NEXRAD doppler radar a "hero." Together, with the private sector and the media who helped disseminate our warnings we saved perhaps 600 lives and countless dollars.

  • America invested $4.5 billion to modernize its National Weather Service. Leveraging this technology can maximize the investment:

  • Improving NEXRAD Products: This year, the NWS begins full-scale development of new NEXRAD products that will better detect tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood conditions. As a result, improved forecasting and lower maintenance costs will save the nation millions of dollars.

  • Sustaining AWIPS operations and maintenance: AWIPS workstations enable forecasters to synthesize and analyze weather/environmental data from multiple sources which results in more accurate and timely forecasts of weather events, saving lives and money.

  • Replacing the Radiosonde Observing System: For more than 50 years, twice a day, every day, from 102 locations in the United States, the National Weather Service launches weather balloons, carrying instrument packages called radiosondes. The network launches approximately 75,000 to 80,000 radiosondes annually. These balloon-borne expendable devices report temperature, humidity, pressure and winds from the earth's surface up through an altitude of about 95,000 feet or 30,000 meters, and serve as the basis for most weather predictions. More than 90 percent of the system parts are now obsolete. We awarded contracts this year to demonstrate new system components and a prototype radiosonde for which uses the Global Positional System to improve data accuracy.

  • Improving the National Network of Weather and Flood Warning and Forecast Services: Recognizing the need for two additional weather forecast offices, we began constructing facilities in Caribou, Maine, and Key West, Fla., this year. Operating 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, these offices will provide improved critical forecasts and warnings that will help citizens be safe and better prepare against the economic impacts of severe weather. These two offices bring the total number of weather forecast offices in our national network of coverage to 121.
  • Goal: NWS-02 Double the average lead time for severe weather events and achieve a 30 percent increase in pin-pointing landfall of hurricanes.

    Our goal is to deliver a credible, timely and relevant suite of weather, water and climate products and services which meet our customer's needs. We are upgrading our products and services to meet these goals. When seconds count, additional warning lead times can mean the difference between life and death. There's still work to do but our average lead times for severe weather are improving significantly. For example:

  • Tornado Warnings: Today's average lead time of 11 minutes for tornado warnings is nearly triple the three minute lead time of 1977. Our goal for 2005 is to provide American's with a 15 minute average lead time.

  • Flash Flood Warnings: Our advancements in flash flood warning lead time is impressive. Today's average lead time of 51 minutes compares with eight minutes in 1987. Our goal for 2005 is 65 minutes.
  • In addition to improving lead times, our customers want more specific severe weather watches. During this year's spring and summer seasons, we issued a test product, "Watch by County", along with our operational watches, to better define and update watch areas. We are soliciting customer feedback on the utility of this test product.

    Hurricanes pose a huge threat to the nation both in potential loss of life and economic devastation. The National Weather Service provides information that is the country's first line of defense against these storms. Last year, for the first time, we issued an outlook for the hurricane season -- and it verified well. For the 2000 North Atlantic Hurricane Season we also are forecasting an above-average number of storms. An average season brings 10 tropical storms and six hurricanes of which two are classified as intense.

    We owe it to the public, to the emergency managers and decision makers, to continue improving our hurricane forecasts. Twenty-four hour track forecast error 30 years ago was 140 miles; this has been reduced to 100 miles with a goal of 80 miles by 2005. By 2005, the NWS also plans to increase hurricane warning lead time from 19 (current) to over 24 hours, and improve hurricane intensity (wind speed) forecasts by 20%.

    Goal: NWS-03 Provide improved and timely public access to weather information ranging from current weather events to long range seasonal and inter-annual flood and weather forecasts.

    The National Weather Service must do more than simply produce better products and services. Critical information must to get to the people who need it and get there in a form they can use. For potentially life-saving warnings, NOAA Weather Radio, the media, and even paging services remain the best sources for communicating short-fuse warning situations. For less time-critical forecasts and weather information, the internet is a key means for delivery:

  • NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) - The Voice of the National Weather Service:

  • Network Expansion: 160 new NOAA Weather Radio stations have been added since beginning an expansion program in 1994. 555 stations now comprise the NWR network. We expect to install 40 new stations by the end of FY 2000 and at least 30 new stations next year. We have identified 240 new sites that will allow us to reach the goal of 95 percent population coverage in each state, depending on funding availability.

  • NWR Public Information: In partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) we published Saving Lives With An All-Hazard Warning Network. This publication describes NWR, promotes its value as a potential life saver, and recommends steps necessary to make NWR more viable as the National warning network. This year we produced two new NWR videos for the public, including a public service announcement with NASCAR race driver Darrell Waltrip to raise public awareness and promote the purchase of NWR receivers.

  • NWR New Formats and Uses: We need to get information to people in a form they can use. We have begun research to apply new telecommunications technologies to include text broadcasts on NWR that may provide access to the hearing impaired. In February 2000, we completed implementing Spanish language broadcast capability into the automated NWR programming system. Additionally, transmitters serving a significant Hispanic population may provide automated generic Spanish translations of emergency weather and natural hazard messages for the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

  • NWR Concatenated Voice: The NWS is evaluating a prototype system, which uses concatenated human voice, for the broadcast of warnings and short-fused watches. Concatenation uses human voice recorded in phrases and words, pieced together by a computer to match input text. This technology will be tested at two NWS offices by mid-calendar year 2000. Consolidated River Data on the Internet: Daily river forecasts and flood stage information from the nation's largest river basins are now available on a single Internet site. The Weather Service's new River Watch home page is a service even more crucial as various parts of the nation are gripped by drought. This new "one stop" Web site provides almost instant access to river data and ice conditions within the Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River Basins. The new site combines river information from more than a dozen weather service offices and makes them available to anyone with access to the Internet. The internet address is: http://www.riverwatch.noaa.gov

  • Open Dissemination of Radar Data on the Internet: After the expiration of the NEXRAD Information Dissemination Service agreement this year, we will provide real time access to the full range of radar data products through the Internet. Our goal is to do this without disrupting any of the existing dissemination paths during the transition in order to make sure this is a win-win for everyone - for the NWS, for our customers and partners, for the vendors, private weather companies and their customers, and ultimately for the taxpayers.

  • Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN): One example of how we are focusing efforts on modern wireless web technologies and designs is the EMWIN system. This satellite based information delivery system delivers critical weather information to emergency managers at an affordable price.

  • StormReady: This new NWS initiative, that originated in Oklahoma, promises to improve communication and increase weather awareness and preparedness in communities across the country. StormReady prepares communities to respond to the threat of severe weather and provides detailed and clear recommendations which communities can use to improve their public awareness programs. It also gives the community recognition for their preparedness accomplishments. Local National Weather Service forecast offices work with communities to complete an application and review process. To be officially StormReady, a community must:

  • Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center;

  • Have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and to alert the public;

  • Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;

  • Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars; and

  • Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.
  • We currently have 22 StormReady communities located in 10 states with an additional 25 in the application process. Our goal is to identify at least 20 StormReady communities annually through 2005.

  • New Climate Products: Since last year, the NWS has issued several new climate products that are available on the web:

  • U.S. Drought Monitor: During last summer's severe drought in the mid-Atlantic we implemented a new Drought Monitor, developed by NOAA and its federal partners. This product summarizes the extent and intensity of droughts nationwide and expected changes in intensity over the next two weeks. For more information visit: U.S. Drought Monitor.

  • Threats Assessment: Last summer we launched this tool to identify potential for extreme weather events up to two weeks in advance. These maps can be found at: U.S. Threats Assessment.

  • Excessive Heat Product: When parts of the country experienced a deadly heatwave last summer, our customers asked for a heat wave outlook. This summer we began issuing a new excessive heat product that maps parts of the country where excessive heat may occur up to 14 days in advance. These maps are located at: Excessive Heat Outlooks.
  • Internal Reinvention

    Goal: NWS-04 Reduce the cost to the private sector of the collection and dissemination of near real-time weather data and information through partnership with the academic community and private sector.

    Government agencies, private companies, academia, the media, emergency managers and the public all rely on National Weather Service data, products and services. Our data and products form a national information data base and infrastructure.

    By collecting and distributing data and information through more efficient high speed communications lines and NOAAPORT, which is a satellite broadcast network, we are reducing costs. For the cost of essential equipment to down link the information, the public, universities, and industry now have access to nearly all data collected by the National Weather Service free of charge.

    Goal: NWS-05 Streamline weather service activities which will result in a more highly trained staff, increased productivity, reduced management overhead, and reduction of the number of field offices from over 300 to 121.

    Currently, 92 percent of our weather offices scheduled to close have already closed (184 of 200). Decisions on 10 additional offices are scheduled for this year. The remaining offices require actions over the next several years before decisions can be made.

    Source: Jim Valdez, National Weather Service — Reinventing Goals for 2000, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, www.nws.noaa.gov/npr5.html, last modified December 21, 2000 (downloaded March 28, 2001).

    Mission Statement

    "The National Weather Service TM (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community."

    It is accomplished by providing warnings and forecast of hazardous weather, including thunderstorms, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter weather, tsunamis, and climate events. The NWS is the sole United States OFFICIAL voice for issuing warnings during life-threatening weather situations.

    And Our Strategic Plan

    [And the following book.]

    A VISION FOR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

    ROAD MAP FOR THE FUTURE


    Panel on the Road Map for the Future

    National Weather Service

    National Weather Service Modernization Committee

    Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

    National Research Council

    NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
    Washington, D.C. 1999

    [For full text, visit source: www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/vision_nws]

    Preface

    In 1990, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asked the National Research Council to provide oversight and review for the modernization and restructuring of the National Weather Service (NWS). In response, the National Research Council established the National Weather Service Modernization Committee (NWSMC). This report is the last major review, under the auspices of the committee, of what has been achieved, with an additional focus on what lies ahead for the NWS, now that the modernization and restructuring is nearing completion.

    In the most recent formal statement from NOAA of subjects the NWSMC should explore, the need for a long-term look at the future was expressed in these words:

    The committee's review will help ensure a continuous modernization to capitalize on the substantial investment already made in new technology, and opportunities available from emerging scientific and technological research and development efforts that will complement and enhance the modernization. Specifically the committee shall investigate the need and opportunities for continuing the modernization of the NWS beyond current plans.

    This request from NOAA provided the basis for the Statement of Task for the study panel from the Governing Board of the National Research Council (see box). These instructions have guided the panel's efforts.

    During the past nine years, the committee and its panels have provided advice and guidance to the NWS and NOAA on the development and implementation of each major technical system included in the modernization, as well as a host of issues related to the restructuring of NWS field offices. This report argues for the continued evolution of observational and computational technologies to improve NWS forecasts and warnings and for the NWS to seek new avenues for partnerships with others to provide a range of environmental services. The report is an optimistic view of the advances that could enable the NWS to achieve the committee's vision of weather-related information services in 2025. This optimism depends, of course, on many assumptions, the most important of which are described at the beginning of the report.

    This report was developed in parallel with another National Research Council report, prepared under the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and recently released as The Atmospheric Sciences: Entering the Twenty-First Century. Although the two authoring groups worked independently, their reports share a vision of exciting new opportunities in atmospheric science and atmospheric information services. They agree on the main strategies for achieving the resulting benefits for the nation. The present report focuses on the NWS and suggests how the evolution and improvement of its observing and prediction capabilities may evolve in the context of the projected advances in science and technology.

    Statement of Task

    The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines for the National Weather Service (NWS) to effectively exploit emerging science and technology, incorporate modernization practices into operations, and continue to improve weather forecasting and relate d products and services for the nation well into the twenty-first century.

    The project will result in a report with findings and recommendations on opportunities for the NWS to effectively exploit and incorporate emerging science and technology into routine operations on a continuing basis. In addition to addressing technical issues, the study will suggest criteria to establish priorities for science and technology initiatives that would foster improvements in NWS operations and services.

    Executive Summary

    In this study, the committee explores ways the National Weather Service (NWS) can take advantage of continuing advances in science and technology to meet the challenges of the future. The predictions are focused on the target year 2025. Because specific predictions about the state of science and technology or the NWS more than 25 years in the future will not be entirely accurate, the goal of this report is to identify and highlight trends that are most likely to influence change. The Panel on the Road Map for the Future National Weather Service developed an optimistic vision for 2025 based on advances in science and technology. This vision is based on the seven assumptions explained in Chapter 1.

    POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO THE NATION

    The panel, which was established by the National Research Council to conduct this study for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts that in 2025 vastly improved weather information products and services will be substantially more useful to society than they are today. The formal NWS modernization and restructuring, now being completed, has provided the foundation for the NWS to lead the way in realizing enormous benefits to the nation. Advances in scientific understanding will enable advances in forecasting techniques. New observational, data assimilation, and modeling systems will be based on scientific advances and technological innovations. The resulting improvements in the accuracy of forecasts will foster markets for weather and related environmental information and will create new opportunities for providers of commercial products and services. To meet the challenges that lie ahead, the NWS must evolve in response to a rapidly changing user and technological environment.

    Recommendation 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service should more aggressively support and capitalize on advances in science and technology to increase the value of weather and related environmental information to society.

    ENABLING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES

    Based on improved scientific understanding, advances in observational and computational technologies will greatly improve the spatial and temporal density, accuracy, and timeliness of weather and climate data and information. Measurements of surface and upper air conditions will be made by automated surface observing networks, by airborne observing systems, by advanced Doppler radar processing technology, and by satellite-based observing systems. New methods of data assimilation will enable higher resolution numerical weather prediction models to represent accurately the physical processes responsible for weather and weather-related phenomena (atmospheric physics and hydrologic processes). New techniques will improve local forecasts by combining data from diverse observing systems taken at different times with results from large-scale modeling and local climate information (hybrid forecasting). Information about the accuracy of forecasts and measures of uncertainty in predictions will be more sophisticated, yet more understandable to users. Descriptions of the key physical processes and conditions at grid points over an entire basin (distributed modeling) will replace older methods of modeling the effects of precipitation and snow melt on streams and rivers.

    Ongoing national and international scientific research and technology development will provide the foundation for these improvements, which will lead to a proliferation of user-oriented services and products. To realize these enormous opportunities, the NWS and NOAA must prepare to upgrade current observing systems and regain and maintain state-of-the-art computing facilities. They will have to keep abreast of research in the scientific community by actively supporting and participating in the U.S. Weather Research Program and other partnerships.

    Recommendation 2. The National Weather Service should be an active partner and participant in national and international research enterprises in weather, hydrology, climate, and environmental sciences.

    The NWS must adopt an evolutionary approach to upgrading its operational systems with new technology rather than relying on episodic overhauls. An evolutionary approach will avoid obsolescence and organizational trauma, minimize risks, and enable more timely implementation of improved tools. The rapid development, testing, and implementation of new algorithms and techniques will require sound science and proficient engineering.

    Recommendation 3. The National Weather Service should commit to and plan for ongoing and timely incorporation of scientific and technical advances in the operational weather observation, analysis, and prediction system. To implement its commitment, the National Weather Service should take the following steps:

    • Develop technologies, in cooperation with universities and the public and private sectors, that enhance systems for observing weather phenomena and for assimilating and analyzing resulting data.

    • Evaluate, on a quantitative basis, alternative technologies and approaches for the development, testing, and deployment of a cost-effective system of synergistic observing instruments and platforms, incorporating the principle that integrated measurements taken by multiple sources using diverse techniques can provide a better estimate of a physical quantity than any one instrument alone.

    • Test and evaluate new forecasting concepts and systems expeditiously, through rapid prototyping at the appropriate centers or selected forecast offices.

    • Maintain a research staff of sufficient size and expertise at the national centers to develop new forecast techniques and products that further their broad national missions.

    • Work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to strengthen National Weather Service interactions with the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service and the Environmental Research Laboratories, ensuring that their combined activities are coherent, systematic, and mutually supportive.

    • Work with the academic community on a continuous basis to improve numerical weather prediction models.

    • Maintain a strong scientific capability at the field offices to conduct application-oriented research and development at the local level (for example, through the science and operations officers and development and operations hydrologists).

    • Provide appropriate computing capabilities at field offices to ensure that new technologies can be tested and applied.

    The future success of the NWS and the quality of its service to the nation will be determined in large measure by the capability of the computer resources made available to it. Improvements in forecasts will depend on the assimilation of timely data from a broad array of observing systems into computer-based models of the atmosphere, which are vital to modern weather and climate prediction. Running increasingly accurate models at higher resolutions quickly enough to produce useful forecasts will require increased computational power. Parsimony in purchasing NWS computer power is therefore a false economy that deprives the nation of valuable benefits.

    Recommendation 4. Congress and the administration should provide the resources needed by the National Weather Service to regain and maintain the state-of-the-art supercomputing capability required to support the advanced analysis and modeling systems that are fundamental to the nation's weather and climate forecast systems.

    MERGING WEATHER INFORMATION SERVICES INTO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SERVICES

    The panel expects that continuing progress in weather forecasting, enabled by major changes in meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and associated technologies, will combine with the continuing transformation of the United States to an information-oriented society to make weather and related environmental data increasingly valuable to a wide range of users. Consequently, the number and variety of participants in the national (and global) network that provides environmental information will increase dramatically. Consumers will use the information to meet their commercial needs and personal interests by integrating traditional weather data (probably in common gridded formats) with other data on the environment and on specific economic sectors. The increasing number and range of nonfederal public, private, and mixed public-private providers of these data and value-added applications will both respond to and create opportunities for new information services and products.

    The NWS's role is expected to evolve as provider networks grow. First, the panel expects that the NWS will retain its lead role in issuing public forecasts and severe weather warnings. It must, therefore, constantly improve its dissemination system by exploiting new ways that information providers communicate with end users. Second, the NWS will increasingly provide observational data and gridded forecast products to other information providers, including the traditional disseminators of NWS products (emergency preparedness agencies and broadcast media), as well as public-sector and commercial producers of specialized products and services. Third, partnering with other governmental entities (federal, state, or local) as well as private entities will be essential for fulfilling the fundamental mission of the NWS.

    Recommendation 5. The National Weather Service should collaborate with a variety of partner-providers to integrate weather and related information into comprehensive environmental information services.

    ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES

    Enlightened strategic planning is critical to enable the NWS to interact with and serve its constituents. To meet the changes in user needs and efficiently upgrade its technology and operations, the NWS will require stable long-term funding that is adequate to implement long-range plans based on validated requirements. Irregular or inadequate support limits the quality and extent of services and denies potential benefits to the entire user community.

    Recommendation 6. The National Weather Service should perform strategic long-range planning for orderly development of the infrastructure and technology that support the services for its constituents. Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should provide stable and adequate funding to the National Weather Service consistent with its needs and plans.

    A rapidly evolving user community, advancing technology, and changing relationships among members of the weather community will require evolution in the organizational structure of NOAA and in the relationships among its components, including NWS, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

    Recommendation 7. The National Weather Service should routinely examine and anticipate the needs of primary customers and ultimate users. In the context of changing requirements, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should periodically adapt its organizational structure and operating processes to foster effective relationships among the National Weather Service, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

    Because the atmosphere and oceans transcend national boundaries, realizing the national weather and climate predictive capabilities envisioned in this report will require a free and open exchange of higher-quality and higher-resolution global observations. Creating the requisite global database will require improved cooperation among the major data-gathering nations.

    Recommendation 8. The National Weather Service should maintain and strengthen its leadership role in seeking international cooperation for the free and open exchange of weather and climate data for the benefit of users in all nations.

    The role of the forecaster will change as NWS personnel who have meteorological or hydrologic expertise spend less time preparing routine forecasts and more time interacting with customers and refining, extending, and validating the models and other tools of automated prediction. Interactions with other participants in the network that provides environmental information (the provider network) will be essential for incorporating environmental observational and forecast data into application-specific decision-support aids and for improving the dissemination of public forecasts and severe weather warnings. The heavy investment in technology for NWS operations will require a technical support staff that is expert in the operation, maintenance, and upgrading of this technology.

    Recommendation 9. The National Weather Service should provide for the ongoing professional development of a knowledgeable, flexible workforce through continuing education and training, taking advantage of appropriate university resources.

    Given the primacy of its role in the current provider network, the NWS could be well positioned to lead, and not merely react to, changes in the national and international systems for providing environmental information services. Both primary customers of NWS products and services (in the provider network) and ultimate consumers of the information should understand and appreciate the role of the NWS in sustaining and expanding the provider network.

    Recommendation 10. The National Weather Service should participate with other public institutions, professional societies, and the private sector in educating the general public and specialized users about the causes and consequences of weather-related environmental phenomena; the utility and limitations of environmental observations, forecasts, and warnings; and the roles of the National Weather Service and its partners in providing this information.

    At the end of Chapter 5, the panel lists criteria NWS can use in selecting science and technology initiatives. The list includes both general criteria, applicable to all areas, and criteria specific to observing systems, computer facilities, new NWS products, and education and training.

    Statement of Dr. Richard A. Anthes, Chairman of the National Research Council's National Weather Service Modernization Committee, and President, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, February 24, 1999.

    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

    Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee of Science. My name is Richard A. Anthes and I am President of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). UCAR is a consortium of 62 institutions of higher education in North America. UCAR includes nearly all U.S. universities with Ph.D. programs in atmospheric, oceanic and related sciences. UCAR operates the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.

    On behalf of the National Research Council's National Weather Service Modernization Committee (NWSMC), I am pleased to summarize the work to date of the committee, with a focus on the ongoing modernization and restructuring of the National Weather Service (NWS).

    In early 1995 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a second five-year contract to the National Research Council to continue analysis, study, and review of the NWS modernization and associated restructuring program. The National Research Council authorized the NWSMC, which is a standing committee under the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, to accomplish these tasks. The NWSMC was given two broad areas of responsibility:

  • to help ensure a successful and cost-effective transition to the modernized and restructured NWS envisioned in the NOAA Strategic Plan to improve weather services to the nation
  • to ensure a continuous modernization to capitalize on the substantial investment already made in new technology and opportunities available from emerging scientific research and technological development that would complement and enhance modernization NOAA further asked the National Research Council to continue its analysis, study, and review throughout the national deployment of the new technology and the phase-over to the new NWS operating structure, a time period extending through 1999.
  • The modernization involves new observational technology, new information and forecast systems, and a new organizational structure. The new observing systems include the weather surveillance radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D), more commonly referred to as the next generation weather radar (NEXRAD); the automated surface observing system (ASOS); and the next generation geostationary operational environmental satellites (GOES-Next). An Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) will provide information processing and forecast workstations at each field forecast office as well as an interactive communications link among all the offices. Advanced supercomputers at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) will enable improvement of the timeliness and accuracy of operational numerical weather forecasts.

    Restructuring of the NWS is nearly complete and includes a consolidation of many of the field offices and supporting center operations. The structure prior to modernization included 52 weather service forecast offices, about 200 smaller offices (including weather service offices and weather service meteorological observatories), and 13 river forecast centers (RFCs). When the modernization is fully implemented there will be 121 weather forecast offices (WFOs), whose locations are determined primarily by the coverage of NEXRAD systems installed nearby, and the 13 RFCs. The new organizational structure also includes the NCEP, which are comprised of nine national centers: NCEP Central Operations, Environmental Modeling Center, Hydrological Prediction Center, Marine Prediction Center, Climate Prediction Center, Aviation Weather Center, Storm Prediction Center, Tropical Prediction Center, and the Space Environmental Center. The centers prepare and make available forecasts and outlooks of weather and climate to the public and other users and provide forecast guidance products to weather service field offices.

    A major portion of the modernization process was completed with the deployment and commissioning of the new NEXRAD and ASOS observational technologies and the launch and operational employment of GOES-8, GOES-9, and GOES-10. In 1996 the NWS completed the planned network of 161 Doppler weather radars that were approved by Congress in 1987. The NWS operates 120 weather radars, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) operates 29, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates the remaining 12. As a result of a secretary of commerce recommendation (based on criteria provided in a 1995 NRC study) the NWS installed three additional radars that are located in northern Indiana, western Arkansas, and northern Alabama. Nearly 950 ASOSs have been installed at the planned 993 NWS, FAA, and DOD locations across the country. The ASOS network provides primary surface data that are used by the NWS for severe weather, flash flood, and river forecasting, as well as for support of aviation operations. The ASOS network substantially increases the spatial resolution and frequency of surface observations. GOES-8 was launched in April 1994, GOES-9 in May 1995, and GOES-10 in April 1997. These satellites allow higher quality and more frequent atmospheric soundings and cloud images to be obtained simultaneously (only one or the other could be obtained from GOES-7 and earlier satellites). Thus three (NEXRAD, ASOS, and GOES-Next) of the five major components of the modernized technologies are in place and operational. Each has contributed to improvements in warnings and forecaster productivity.

    Following a series of development delays, the fourth component of the modernization, AWIPS, is being deployed nationwide and is in service at more than half of the weather offices. The remaining systems are scheduled to be installed by June 1999 and commissioned beginning in early 2000. Even with a somewhat reduced capability from what was originally specified, AWIPS clearly facilitates the integration of diverse sets of weather data and enhances the production and dissemination of forecasts and warnings. As the committee pointed out in its AWIPS report in 1997, more attention is needed in systems engineering and risk management processes in the NWS to ensure that AWIPS meets all NWS requirements for the system.

    While the observational systems including NEXRAD, ASOS, and GOES-Next are at or near state-of-the-art, and AWIPS is nearly complete, the fifth component of the modernization, supercomputer capability at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, is woefully deficient and needs continuing attention and support to implement and sustain a viable modeling operation. The NWSMC is concerned that the NCEP computer capabilities have fallen well behind the state of practice as represented by the capabilities of meteorological centers of many other industrialized nations. I will cover this topic more in my remarks about the future NWS.

    I wish to turn now to the future and focus on key points from our latest study just released this past week, "A Vision for the National Weather Service: Road Map for the Future." Copies of the report have been provided to your committee.

    In this study, the NWSMC explores ways the NWS can take advantage of continuing advances in science and technology to meet the challenges of the future. The outlook is focused on the target year 2025. Because specific predictions about the state of science and technology or the NWS more than 25 years in the future will not be entirely accurate, the goal of this report is to identify and highlight trends that are most likely to influence change. The NWSMC and its Road Map Panel have developed an optimistic vision for 2025 based on predicted advances in science and technology. This vision is based on seven assumptions (listed in the report).

    The NWSMC and its Road Map Panel envision that in 2025 vastly improved weather information products and services will be substantially more useful to society than they are today. The formal NWS modernization and restructuring, now being completed, has provided the foundation for the NWS to lead the way in realizing enormous benefits to the nation. New observational, data assimilation, and modeling systems will be based on scientific advances and technological innovations. The resulting improvements in the accuracy of forecasts will foster markets for weather and related environmental information and will create new opportunities for providers of commercial products and services. To meet the challenges that lie ahead, the NWS must evolve in response to a rapidly changing user and technological environment.

    Improved scientific understanding, together with advances in observational and computational technologies will lead to greatly improved spatial and temporal density, accuracy, and timeliness of weather and climate data and information. Measurements of surface and upper air conditions will be made by automated surface observing networks, by airborne observing systems, and by advanced Doppler radar processing technology. Using improved and new technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite-based observing systems will provide global observations in all weather of unprecedented accuracy and coverage. New methods of data assimilation will enable higher resolution numerical weather prediction models to use these new data sets to greatly reduce the initial errors in the models' representation of the state of the atmosphere. Advances in scientific understanding will lead to improved representation in the models of the physical processes responsible for weather and climate (atmospheric physics and hydrologic processes). New techniques will improve local forecasts by combining data from diverse observing systems taken at different times with results from large-scale modeling and local climate information (hybrid forecasting). Information about the accuracy of forecasts and measures of uncertainty in predictions will be more sophisticated, yet more understandable to users. Descriptions of the key physical processes and conditions at grid points over an entire basin (distributed modeling) will replace older methods of modeling the effects of precipitation and snow melt on streams and rivers.

    Ongoing national and international scientific research and technology development will provide the foundation for these improvements, which will lead to a proliferation of user-oriented services and products. To realize these enormous opportunities, the NWS and NOAA must continuously upgrade observing systems and regain and maintain state-of-the-art computing facilities at NCEP. They will have to keep abreast of research in the scientific community by actively supporting and participating in the U.S. Weather Research Program and other partnerships.

    The NWS must adopt an evolutionary approach to upgrading its operational systems with new technology rather than relying on episodic overhauls. An evolutionary approach will avoid obsolescence and organizational trauma, minimize risks, and enable more timely implementation of improved tools. The rapid development, testing, and implementation of new algorithms and techniques will require sound science and proficient engineering.

    The future success of the NWS and the quality of its service to the nation will be determined in large measure by the capability of the computer resources made available to it. Improvements in forecasts will depend on the assimilation of timely data from a broad array of observing systems into computer-based models of the atmosphere, which are vital to modern weather and climate prediction. Assimilating the huge number of diverse observations and running increasingly accurate models at higher resolutions quickly enough to produce useful forecasts will require greatly increased computational power at NCEP. Parsimony in purchasing NWS computer power is therefore a false economy that deprives the nation of valuable benefits that could be realized from the greatly improved observational and information systems associated with the modernization and foreseen in the future.

    The NWSMC/Road Map Panel expects that continuing progress in weather forecasting, enabled by major changes in meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and associated technologies, will combine with the continuing transformation of the United States to an information-oriented society to make weather and related environmental data increasingly valuable to a wide range of users. Consequently, the number and variety of participants in the national (and global) network that provides environmental information will increase dramatically. Consumers will use the information to meet their commercial needs and personal interests by integrating traditional weather data (probably in common gridded formats) with other data on the environment and on specific economic sectors. The increasing number and range of nonfederal public, private, and mixed public-private providers of these data and value-added applications will both respond to and create opportunities for new information services and products.

    The NWS's role is expected to evolve as provider networks grow. First, the panel expects that the NWS will retain its lead role in issuing public forecasts and severe weather warnings. It must, therefore, constantly improve its dissemination system by exploiting new ways that information providers communicate with end users. Second, the NWS will increasingly provide observational data and gridded forecast products to other information providers, including the traditional disseminators of NWS products (emergency preparedness agencies and broadcast media), as well as public-sector and commercial producers of specialized products and services. Third, partnering with other governmental entities (federal, state, or local) as well as private entities will be essential for fulfilling the fundamental mission of the NWS.

    Enlightened strategic planning is critical to enable the NWS to interact with and serve its constituents. To meet the changes in user needs and efficiently upgrade its technology and operations, the NWS will require stable long-term funding that is adequate to implement long-range plans based on validated requirements. Irregular or inadequate support limits the quality and extent of services and denies potential benefits to the entire user community.

    A rapidly evolving user community, advancing technology, and changing relationships among members of the weather community will require evolution in the organizational structure of NOAA and in the relationships among its components, including NWS, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

    Because the atmosphere and oceans transcend national boundaries, realizing the national weather and climate predictive capabilities envisioned in this report will require a free and open exchange of the higher-quality and higher-resolution global observations. Creating the requisite global database will require improved cooperation among the major data-gathering nations.

    The role of the forecaster will change as the highly educated and trained NWS personnel with advanced meteorological or hydrologic expertise spend less time preparing routine forecasts and more time interacting with customers and refining, extending, and validating the models and other tools of automated prediction. Interactions with other participants in the network that provides environmental information (the provider network) will be essential for incorporating environmental observational and forecast data into application-specific decision-support aids and for improving the dissemination of public forecasts and severe weather warnings. The heavy investment in technology for NWS operations will require a technical support staff that is expert in the operation, maintenance, and upgrading of this technology.

    Given the primacy of its role in the current provider network, the NWS could be well positioned to lead, and not merely react to, changes in the national and international systems for providing environmental information services. Both primary customers of NWS products and services (in the provider network) and ultimate consumers of the information should understand and appreciate the role of the NWS in sustaining and expanding the provider network.

    The study activities of the NWSMC have followed and built upon previous studies conducted for NOAA by the National Research Council since 1980. The committee was established in 1990 and has completed 15 reports, three of which were letter reports. This represents a total of more than 10,000 hours of volunteered time by 37 professionals from a range of science, engineering, weather and information technologies, and organizational management specialties, who provided oversight and independent advice to NOAA and the NWS during the past nine years. All of the reports were published and provided to NOAA, NWS, Congress, and other interested organizations and individuals with the exception of the final report on the NWS Plan for the Modernization and Associated Restructuring Demonstration, which will be released in March 1999. The U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA chose to not exercise the final year option of its contract with the National Research Council for continuing services of the NWSMC; all committee and supporting staff activities will cease on March 31, 1999. A list of all of the NWSMC's reports with an abstract for each report is provided in the attachment.

    Source: Dr. Richard A. Anthes, 1999: Statement before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, February 24, 1999, www.ucar.edu/pres/testimony, downloaded August 25, 2001.

    Related presentation: Vision of Future Weather Services, AMS Annual Meeting, January 2001.

    World Meteorological Organization Extracts from the WMO Vision

    'WMO evolves to meet present and future requirements of humankind in its capacity as the specialized agency of the United Nations on matters relating to the atmosphere, weather, water and climate as well as their interactions with the environment including the land, oceans and biosphere.'

    WMO is committed to building a world in which:

  • The principle of free and unrestricted international exchange of meteorological data and products is maintained.
  • Nations, institutions and communities strengthen their commitment to the collaborative study and monitoring of the planet's natural systems.
  • The potential of early warning systems to reduce losses from severe weather, flood and drought is fully realized.
  • Collaboration among the geosciences leads to skillful seasonal forecasts and climate predictions for phenomena such as El Niño and global warming.
  • International cooperation leads to an inte-grated global environmental monitoring and service system.
  • Source: World Meteorological Organization, Fifth WMO Long-term Plan, 2000–2009, Summary for decision makers, www.wmo.ch/web-en/5LTP909E.pdf (1 MB), Downloaded February 26, 2001. [Also available in a longversion: World Meteorological Organization, Fifth WMO Long-term Plan, 2000–2009, www.wmo.ch/web-en/5TPLT908E.pdf (38MB)]

    [Here is a draft of the Sixth WMO Long-Term Plan]

    WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
    ________

    CBS MANAGEMENT GROUP

    GENEVA, 24 to 27 JANUARY 2001

      CBS-MG-I/Doc. 4
    (12.I.2001)
    ____

    ITEM: 1.2

    ENGLISH

    Draft 6th WMO LTP - Vision and Strategy

    (Submitted by the Secretariat)


    Summary and purpose of document

    This document a summary of text from the general summary of CBS-XII and a draft proposal containing a broad vision statement, outcomes, strategies and associated goals for the 6LTP that has been developed by the EC Working Group on Long-term Planning.


    ACTION PROPOSED

    The Management Group is invited to carefully review the proposed text for the 6LTP in this document and provide comments and additional input to the EC-WGLTP as a matter of urgency.

     


    Introduction

    During its twelfth session CBS noted that the Executive Council at its fifty-second session had provided guidance on the preparation of the 6LTP and that the Council had agreed that the Long-term Plan should form the basis for the preparation of the programme and budget, as well as the relevant Programme activities. It had therefore considered that the timing of the LTP preparation was crucial and agreed that the draft Sixth WMO Long-term Plan (6LTP) should be prepared for the consideration and endorsement by EC-LIII in 2001. The earlier availability of the draft 6LTP would also provide guidance to the technical commissions and regional associations in detailed planning of their programmes.

    Following the guidance of EC-LII, the EC Working Group on Long-term Planning (EC-WGLTP) prepared a draft proposal containing a broad vision statement, outcomes, strategies and associated goals for the 6LTP, which is included in the appendix of this document. The Commission noted that the vice-president attended a meeting in conjunction with the Meeting of the Presidents of Technical Commissions in early October 2000, which reviewed that material and provided further input. Much work must still be done and the chairman of the EC-WGLTP has requested additional input on the revised draft from all technical commissions as quickly as possible.

    In view of these decisions and the urgent need for a draft 6LTP to be prepared by early 2001, the Commission agreed that its Management Group should consider this matter and provide input to the EC-WGLTP as a matter of urgency. It also requested the chairpersons of the open programme area groups to develop key goals and implementation priorities for their respective sub-programmes and to seek input from the chairs of the Regional Working Groups on the Planning and Implementation of the WWW. These will be reviewed by the Management Group and by the Commission at its extraordinary session in 2002.


    Preparation of the Sixth WMO Long-term Plan (6LTP)

    Visiona clear and succinct statement which captures the essence of what WMO should be and why it exists.

    "The WMO – leading the world in cooperation in weather, water, climate and the natural environment for the benefit of all nations."

    Outcomes - The results and/or impacts of what we want to achieve, for which WMO can play a significant role.

    1. Improved protection of life and property

    • To contribute, through the implementation of detection, prediction and warning systems, to safety of life and to reduction of the social and economic impacts of natural disasters, e.g. tropical cyclones, floods, strong winds, droughts, forest fires, severe storms and pollution events.

    • Increased awareness and preparedness of peoples and society to face extremities of severe weather phenomena.

    • Improved safety of infrastructure objects such as buildings, roads, bridges, powerplants etc., through informed use of meteorological and hydrological data.

    • Reduced vulnerability of human life and property to weather and climate events.

    2. Increased safety at sea and in the air

    • Underpin the safety of travel by air through the provision of warnings of enroute meteorological and environmental hazards, including turbulence, icing, volcanic ash and tropical cyclones.

    • Enhanced safety of life and property at sea, for commercial shipping and other users (pleasure craft, sporting events, fisheries, industry) and in ever harsher conditions, through the provision of higher quality, more detailed and more varied marine weather and ocean condition services.

    3. Enhanced quality of life (both in terms of basic human needs such as food, water, shelter and in making the most of the weather in leisure, sports and every day life)

    • Adequate and sustained food availability through the provision of weather, hydrological and climatological (including seasonal) forecasts to plan agricultural activities.

    • Improved environment in terms of good air quality and clean water with minimal pollution.

    • Increased weather-climate-environment awareness of peoples, governmental bodies and society.

    • Better informed public on the importance of meteorology and how it can improve their daily lives.

    • Reduction of health problems, including those associated with increasing UV-radiation and pollution.

    • Improved assessment and management of water resources through the application of hydrological forecasts, leading to more sustainable development, and reduction in tension over shared resources.

    • Maximizing social benefits through the contribution to peoples daily lives and socioeconomic activities.

    4. Sustainable economic growth

    • Contribute to economic development by means of: a higher degree of protection of human lives and property against detrimental effects of meteorological/hydrological phenomena; better use of weather, climate and water related services in order to increase economic benefit.

    • Maximize potential of natural resources to support sustainable development.

    • To assist in the form of weather inputs in planning and management of agricultural production and water resources to sustain the growing human and cattle production.

    • Improvements in the way agri-business, industry, commerce and various service sectors (including energy, tourism, building design and urban planning), which have demonstrated sensitivity, learn to adapt to climate change and respond more effectively when provided with appropriate information, including predictions.

    • Better economic performance and natural environment for the whole society as a result of proper application of meteorological information and forecasts.

    5. Protection of the environment

    • Better, reliable and timely advice to policy-and-decision-makers with regard to policies and course of action to be taken, on a national and international scale, to prevent adverse climate modification and damage to the natural environment.

    • Greater understanding of the climate system at national and regional scales as well as at the global scale.

    • Contribution to protecting aquatic ecosystems.

    • Halting or even reversing the deteriorating trend in the quality of the atmosphere in relation to human habitation.

    • Support to the formulation of national, regional as well as international Conventions and strategies such as the UNFCCC, UNCCD, Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer.


    Strategies and associated goals

    In order to contribute to the outcomes, the WMO and its Members have adopted the following strategies with associated goals for meeting the evolving global needs for expert advice and services related to weather, water, climate and the natural environment.

    1. To deliver increasingly relevant and appropriate warnings of severe events related to weather, water, climate and the natural environment throughout the world, and ensure they are able to reach the right people (individuals, emergency services, decision-makers) in a timely and useful manner.

    (a) Improve the accuracy and reliability of the predictions of tropical cyclones, floods, strong winds, droughts, forest fires, severe storms and pollution events. This should include improving seasonal and longer term predictions of changes in the timing, severity or frequency of such severe events, such as associated with El Nino and global warming(including information on the likely consequences of climate change at a regional level).

    (b) Establish appropriate mechanisms and communication systems for delivering warnings, including considering how best to utilise the international capabilities, technological developments (e.g. Internet), links with media and the appropriate authorities responsible for action.

    (c) Establish appropriate protocols for warnings, to avoid confusion of different warnings from different sources, including cooperation between the different sectors of the meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic and climatological communities to agree responsibilities.

    (d) Establish appropriate communication with the types of organisations who need to receive and act upon the warnings, to ensure they understand what can be achieved and that their requirements are properly understood and that the type, format, timeliness and method of delivery of the warnings are appropriate.

    (e) Establish effective mechanisms for regularly presenting information to governments, relevant organisations and the public as appropriate, advising on areas at increased risk of natural disasters and actions which could be taken to reduce the potential impacts of such disasters.

    (f) Consider all of the above goals from a global perspective, using the collective abilities of the different Members of WMO (including the different sectors of the meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic and climatological communities) and of other international organisations in order to achieve the best outcome.

    2. To provide increasingly improved weather, water, climate and related environmental services to the public, governments and other interested parties throughout the world.

    (a) Assess the requirements for the following services (which may have global or regional implications, including the potential need for aid or assistance) in different parts of the world, and the capabilities of the different Members of WMO regarding the provision of such services.

    (i) The provision of services to aviation to improve its safety and economics, including warnings of enroute meteorological and environmental hazards (turbulence, icing, volcanic ash and tropical cyclones).

    (ii) The provision of marine weather and ocean condition services to improve the safety and economics of marine activities.

    (iii) The provision of weather, water and climate (including seasonal) forecasts to plan agricultural activities to contribute to ensuring an adequate and sustained availability of food and fibre.

    (iv) The provision of services associated with health problems, including air quality, water quality, UV-radiation and pollution.

    (v) The provision of hydrological forecasts to improve assessment and management of water resources, to increase sustainable development and reduce tension over shared resources.

    (vi) The provision of weather, water and climate information to enable informed construction of infrastructure such as buildings, roads, bridges, powerplants and to aid urban design, to improve safety.

    (vii) The provision of weather, water and climate information to maximize the potential of natural resources (including new sources of energy), to support sustainable development and reduce impacts on the environment.

    (b) Improve the provision of the services listed in (a) by:

    (i) best possible benefit to cost, for government and other customers;

    (ii) customer-focus to meet the needs of the different sectors of society, including affordability, including establishing appropriate communication with the types of organisations who need to receive the services, to ensure they understand what can be achieved and that their requirements are properly understood and that the type, format, timeliness and method of delivery of the services are appropriate;

    (iii) greater prediction accuracy and reliability, with risk quantified;

    (iv) need for integrated services, across natural sciences: take the fullest account of relevant physical and chemical parameters associated with the weather, the climate and hydrological conditions, including parameters outside the hydrological and meteorological fields as appropriate to meet the customers needs.

    (c) Consider (b) above from a global and multi-disciplinary perspective, using the collective abilities of the different Members of WMO (including the different sectors of the meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic and climatological communities) and of other international organisations in order to achieve an integrated global service system.

    3. To be the authoritative scientific voice on weather, water, climate and related environment issues; including contributing to relevant international conventions, protocols, and other legal instruments, ensuring that relevant agreements are scientifically based, as well as inputting to scientifically-based policies of governments and briefing the media.

    (a) Define the types of issues which WMO should be the authoritative scientific voice on, and consider the roles of other organisations (such as UNEP and UNFCCC regarding climate change) and the possible establishment of joint arrangements.

    (b) Establish WMO as the respected authority for these issues.

    (i) Position WMO as the organization capable of acting as the authoritative voice with global leadership on weather, water, climate and related environmental matters.

    (ii) Improve awareness of WMO.

    (iii) Raise the profile of the organisation through better management of the media; be proactive in issuing press statements in a timely and media interesting manner on relevant issues.

    (iv) Sell the objectives of the organisation to the Member States.

    (v) Encourage and gain Member States commitment to implement these objectives.

    (vi) Let the world know of the successes of the WMO programmes and the benefits.

    (vii) Achieve international publicity and priority in the UN context for core areas of WMO’s activities.

    (viii) Respond authoritatively to the increasing demand of the communities for expert advice on meteorology, hydrology and related environmental issues of importance to countries.

    (ix) Advertise to governments, relevant authorities, other international organisations, and the media, the role of WMO and the way in which WMO and its Members could be beneficial to them as a source of expert information and advice on matters related to weather, water, climate and related environmental issues.

    (c) Develop and continually update an appropriate knowledge base of the types of issues defined in (a).

    (d) Provide the information/advice in the most effective manner.

    (i) Improve the mechanisms for preparing and issuing/delivering the advice/information and ensuring WMO is included in the development of international protocols and agreements related to weather, water, climate and related environmental issues; ensuring that the capabilities of Members of WMO are utilised to the best advantage.

    (ii) Express the Organization’s point of view to all international inter-governmental or non-governmental organizations whose activities are in any way connected with those of WMO.

    (iii) Participate actively in decision-making by such external bodies to ensure that hydrometeorological and climatic issues are adequately taken into account, including in the organization of such bodies’ activities.

    4. To inform and educate the public, governments and other interested parties about the socio-economic benefits of understanding the weather, water, climate and related environment

    (a) Improve our knowledge of the benefits of meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic, climatological and related environmental services, in terms of outcomes which affect the users of such services, including carrying out cost-benefit studies for the various sectors.

    (b) Inform governments and others of benefits, to encourage support for meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic, climatological and related activities and to enable better use of the available knowledge, information and forecasts.

    (c) Demonstrate to the public the socio/economic quantitative value of the services of the NMHSs through case studies, what-if analyses, economic simulation models etc.

    (d) Inform users of the benefits in terms of outputs/outcomes which affect the different sectors of society and the economy of a country.

    (e) Promote education of the public through the media, and youngsters through the elementary and high-school educational program, to increase awareness with respect to the weather-water-climate-environment system of our planet.

    The following two strategies are associated with developing the required knowledge, basic predictions and infrastructure in order to be able to achieve the goals associated with strategies 1 to 4 above.

    5. To understand the processes which affect the state of the atmosphere, the weather, water resources, the physical state of the oceans, climate change and related environmental states such as air quality and pollution levels; and to improve cooperation on the development of prediction systems.

    (a) Assess the requirements for predictions to meet the goals under strategies (1) and (2), including types of forecasts, space and time scales, accuracy and reliability.

    (b) Improve the accuracy and reliability of the predictions required to meet the goals under strategies (1) and (2).

    (c) Assess the requirements for the knowledge base, in terms of understanding the processes which affect the state of the atmosphere, the weather, water resources, the physical state of the oceans, climate change and related enviroenmental states, to meet the goals under strategy (3).

    (d) Improve the understanding of the processes required for the knowledge base in strategy (2).

    (e) Improve the collaboration and co-operation on a regional and global basis between centres which carry out research into the processes, and between those centres which produce predictions, in order to improve the understanding and the predictions and reduce unbeneficial duplication of effort.

    (f) Improve linkages between the natural sciences; take the fullest account of relevant physical and chemical parameters associated with the weather, the climate and hydrological conditions, including parameters outside the hydrological and meteorological fields as appropriate.

    (g) Ensure that the principle of free and unrestricted international exchange of basic forecast products is maintained.

    6. To observe, record and report on the weather, water resources, climate and the related natural environment.

    (a) Identify the data requirements for achieving the goals in (1) to (5), including the potential need for an international network of new types of environmental data (e.g. air quality).

    (b) Define optimum network(s) in terms of effectiveness and cost - type of observations, resolution, area of coverage (e.g. global or regional), telecommunications required to distribute the data, processing and storage of the data.

    (c) Establish an integrated global system for observing, recording and reporting on the weather, water resources, climate and the related natural environment to meet the requirements in the most effective and efficient manner; including the standardization of techniques for observing and exchanging data.

    (d) Improve co-operation between NMHSs and other appropriate organisations to implement the observing system, in order to improve the quality, robustness and cost of the system. This should include planning networks on a regional basis and establishing appropriate cost-sharing mechanisms to enable improvements in the system (such as utilisation of new satellite distribution systems).

    (e) Establish a maintenance system for the network – to assess problems and deficiencies and take actions to deal with the problems.

    (f) Keep up-to-date with new technological developments, such as the Internet and satellite observation and data distribution systems and utilise them to the maximum extent possible where appropriate.

    (g) Ensure that appropriate structure and mechanisms are established within WMO to ensure that there are suitable links between the different bodies which are involved with defining the requirements, defining the optimum network(s), implementing the network (including observations, telecommunications, data storage etc.) and using the data.

    (h) Ensure that the principle of free and unrestricted international exchange of basic data is maintained.

    The following three strategies are concerned with how WMO and its Members aim to meet strategies 1 to 6 above. Each of the associated goals should therefore be considered in the context of how they can contribute to the goals associated with strategies 1 to 6.

    7. To encourage co-operation and collaboration between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs)

    (a) Establish appropriate mechanisms and structures within WMO to facilitate increased collaboration and alliances between NMHSs. Encourage and facilitate regional cooperation, less dependency on national capabilities alone.

    (b) Promote exchange and sharing of information and other resources to minimize unnecessary duplication of effort.

    (c) Support education and training for staff in developing NMHSs to enable them to develop a better apprehension of the complexity of the weather-climate-environment system, new technology, new management methods and serving customer requirements.

    (d) Build global capabilities on collective strengths, recognizing that, for whatever reason, some have better capabilities than others.

    (e) Facilitate regional and international cooperation and collaborative programmes between developed and developing nations.

    (f) Facilitate and encourage informal networking of NMHSs on the basis of common interest projects to improve effectiveness and reduce overall costs (e.g. observing systems planned and implemented on a regional basis, cooperation in development of forecast models, pooling of staff resources).

    8. To work effectively with international partners, other science-based organizations, academia and the private sector

    (a) Improve linkages between the natural sciences, (e.g. climate, biodiversity and desertification), and encourage multi-disciplinary cooperation in meteorology, hydrology, oceanography and other environmental fields.

    (b) Improve coordination between the UN (and other international) organisations, and identify whether there is a need for a more overarching way of dealing with environmental issues and what the roles of the different organisations should be (including areas for greater coordination). Develop joint inter-institutional programmes (e.g. with FAO, ICAO, WHO) to produce mechanisms for taking into account the influence of weather, water resources and climate on the activities of interest to those organisations.

    (c) Establish appropriate mechanisms for increasing involvement of the wider meteorological community in the work of WMO - globally, regionally and nationally.

    (d) Promote better integration among NMHSs, the media and the private sector for provision of meteorological services to the public, building awareness among Members of the need to establish effective and efficient services to distribute special bulletins and warnings.

    (e) Increase cooperation with organizations such as the European Union, the IADB and the World Bank, to encourage funding for the global meteorological infrastructure.

    9. To be an effective, efficient and flexible Organization able to respond rapidly to the changing needs of society and new opportunities provided by technological advances

    (a) Improve effectiveness and efficiency of services through improved cooperation and collaboration between the different sectors of the relevant communities.

    (b) Review and improve the WMO structure and working mechanisms to increase the effectiveness and flexibility to cope with changing circumstances, e.g. facilitating new types of cooperation between NMHSs and other sectors, including joint funding of infrastructure such as regional observation networks or telecommunication systems.

    (c) Review the role of the WMO Secretariat, and the changing skills required to cope with the evolving needs of the Members, and ensure that the most capable and experienced staff from Members are employed within WMO to drive and coordinate the activities.

    (d) Review the terms of reference and working mechanisms of relevant WMO bodies in order to better facilitate partnerships with other relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academia and the private sector and pursue an active policy to include these entities in the work of WMO.

    Source: Draft 6th WMO LTP - Vision and Strategy, WMO, www.wmo.ch/web/www/BAS/MG-I/Doc-4.html, downloaded February 26, 2001.

    Zimbabwe At the Department of Meteorological Services, we are constantly striving to improve the quality and capability of our product as well as strengthen and support our Customers.

    There are very few economic activities upon which Meteorology does not have a bearing. Zimbabwe's economy is diverse and growing rapidly.

    The Department of Meteorological Services, in the Ministry of Transport and Energy has played a crucial role in observing the weather and monitoring our regional climate systems, using its network of sixty three stations manned by well trained staff. Weather related natural disasters such as droughts which have affected the region over the last 15 years are carefully monitored through the support of Regional Institutions such as the Drought Monitoring Centre and the Remote Sensing Facility both of which are housed within the Meteorological Department headquarters Buildings in Belvedere, Harare.

    The Zimbabwe Meteorological Department are:

  • Providing accurate and timely meteorological, climatological and seismological information.
  • Developing better appreciation of the services rendered to all national economic sectors.
  • Conducting research to develop a better knowledge of the science, impacts and responses to meteorological phenomenon.
  • Providing advisories and advance warning services to ensure public safety and preservation of national and capital infrastructure.
  • Ensuring effective application of meteorological, climatological and seismological information to achieve national and international goals.

  • 1. Here are two notes about NMSs from the WMO.

    Visibility and Status of National Meteorological Services

    Introduction

    It is a fact that all National Meteorological Services (NMSs) are keen to improve their status and enhance their visibility. In fact, some NMSs have frequently indicated that their current status and visibility are not sufficiently high to help their further development. At its 13th Congress WMO was tasked with treating the problem with high priority thus underscoring the close linkage between the role and operation of NMSs on the one hand, and their status and visibility on the other, including the ability to secure financial support.

    It would be highly advisable to analyse NMSs' status and visibility, both actual and perceived, and to improve on the situation. Status of the NMS is accorded by the nation, the public, the agencies and government, and is granted not by mere virtue of the existence of the NMS, but earned as a direct result of high levels of NMS performance. Whereas there is no magic formula to achieve success, and whereas the solution is a combination of many factors, the key element comes from the effective fulfilment of the NMS mission, through the appropriate provision of relevant products and services to the public and other users.

    The provision of readily available public weather services is one of the primary roles of all NMSs and it is the role in which they are often judged, not only by the general public, but also by those on whose decisions the Service depends. The provision of demonstrably useful and reliable public weather services, tailored to the needs of the national community, represent the country's most visible pay-off for public investment in the NMS infrastructure and specialist staff. Good quality public weather services enhance the status and visibility of the NMS and in turn, can have a positive impact on how the organisation is perceived to perform, and can influence matters such as budget allocations.

    Some factors which challenge the status and visibility of NMSs

    The following are some factors that may contribute to the lowering of the status, and diminishing of the visibility of NMSs:

  • The expansion of the international media and weather presentations that cover the territory of the NMS, and indeed the whole globe;
  • Inadequately developed relationships with the national media, resulting in lack of interest by the media, or occasional interest at the time of severe weather;
  • The rapid expansion of the Internet, making weather information available from a variety of sources, challenging the authority and visibility of NMSs;
  • (The above three factors are dealt with in detail under MEDIA ISSUES)

  • Lack of or inadequately developed and implemented public weather services programmes;
  • Problems in maintaining high levels of timeliness, accuracy and skill in forecast and warnings; the result is lowered credibility that erodes the NMS status and visibility;
  • Problems in attracting or recruiting and retaining high quality staff; this could be caused by external factors beyond the control of the NMS;
  • The diversity of circumstances existing in individual countries such as the economic framework, legal systems and relevant government policies.
  • An approach to improving the status and enhancing the visibility of NMSs

    The importance of Public Weather Services [PWS]

    Some of the above-listed factors are not within the competence or ability of the NMS to influence especially those that affect the availability and level of financial support from government. Governments are always under pressure to address the more immediate needs of the country for water, roads, education and health. With limited resources social needs take on higher priority. There are however, situations where a nation's sensitivity and vulnerability to weather disasters lead naturally to the public and government becoming aware of the role of the NMS. Under these circumstances, as long as the products and services provided by the NMS meet the expectations and requirements of the public and other users, status and visibility of the NMS will increase. Providing good quality public weather services may be the way in which the NMS can influence decisions on government investment in further improving the infrastructure of the Service.

    Major factors in PWS success

    The following lists some recommendations for a successful public weather services programme:

  • Development of a user focus – This requires addressing topics such as service excellence, service improvement, total quality management and continuous improvement. Products and services provided should be those required by the users and not those that the NMS believes are required. The users should be aware of the NMS constraints and capabilities since this knowledge is more likely to lead to realistic expectations of the ability of the NMS to meet their needs, resulting in increased credibility and status of the Service;
  • Communication – The content of the NMS product must be in a language and the terminology used such that the user can understand it, and benefit from it by taking appropriate action to safeguard life and property. The sensitivity and ability of the NMS staff in this regard, can be improved by the appropriate training. The results of a 1997 global survey by WMO showed that the most common obstacle encountered in the progress of public weather services programmes was lack of user understanding;
  • Service delivery – Effective dissemination and presentation of forecasts, warnings and other public weather products is essential to influence the user. Timely delivery to the broad spectrum of users is mainly through the mass media, particularly the electronic media. In addition, the increasing availability of the Internet for accessing wider sources of information and for supplementing the more traditional delivery systems provides new opportunities for NMSs. Training in media skills and presentation techniques, at least among some staff, can result in a better public image for the NMS. Developments in science and technology continue to improve weather observations, communication, weather and climate predictions and television weather-casting technology. The NMS public weather services programme must harness these developments for service delivery;
  • Strong media relationships – The key partnership with the media is an extremely important factor in the success of public weather service activities, since such collaboration and partnership will assist the NMS to get the message out in a timely manner, especially during severe weather. (Guidelines for improved media relationships are dealt with under MEDIA ISSUES);
  • NMS staff training – In NMSs where the size of the Service does not allow recruiting specialist staff to deal with service delivery issues, the staff should receive training beyond basic meteorological topics so as to develop a more user-oriented attitude. Also, specialist training must be given to meteorologists to allow them to provide the required services, including value-added packaging for special users. Beyond this base, expertise and experience in warning coordination activities should exist among the senior staff;
  • NMS management training – the senior staff and management personnel should receive training in management level issues in public weather services. Managers should also be trained to interact and consult effectively with users in application areas such as transport, agriculture, forestry and construction, since the visibility and credibility of the NMS is derived from applications areas;
  • Public education and awareness – The second objective of the PWS programme is ''to foster better understanding by the public of the capabilities of the NMS and how best to use those services''. A weather-literate public is much more likely to judge the NMS performance positively, leading to enhancement of status and visibility. (For more details see PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS);
  • Coordination and cooperation with all sectors and institutions requiring weather services and who can also facilitate service delivery (e.g. the media), is recommended. Some other examples of these sectors are: the disaster management authorities, schools and academic institutions, the farming community, decision makers, government agencies and the general public;
  • Service evaluation – This involves two components, verification and user-based assessment. Verification is the determination of the skill, accuracy and timeliness of products and services. Verification statistics and information will lead to the correction of weaknesses in operations. (For details see VERIFICATION). Feedback from user-based assessment will enable the NMS to take action with respect to product definition, delivery mechanisms, research and development of products and services.
  • Conclusion

    Society's expectations of the meteorological community have increased over recent decades, and the NMS is expected to deliver a suite of traditional and new products and services with timeliness, accuracy and quality higher than before. In accepting this challenge, even in the face of reduced resources, the NMS must find innovative ways to serve the demanding and fastidious public. Importantly, success in performing through an efficient and effective public weather services programme will go a long way in improving the status and enhancing the visibility of the NMS.

    (Note: The second edition of the Guide to Public Weather Services Practices gives guidelines in detail for the development of WMO Members' national public weather services programmes).

    Source: Visibility and Status of National Meteorological Services, WMO, www.wmo.ch/web/aom/pwsp/Visibility&StatusOfNMSs.html last updated November 15, 2000 (downloaded February 26, 2001).

    1. Functions of WMCs, RSMCs and NMCs
    [World Meteorological Centres, Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres, and National Meteorological Centres]

    1.1 GDPS products and services

    Each Member or group of Members(s) responsible for a GDPS Centre should ensure that its centre performs the relevant category of the following functions:

    1.1.1 Real-time products and services for middle latitudes and subtropical areas

    For middle latitudes and subtropical areas, the GDPS should provide the following products and services in real time:

    (a) Surface and upper-air analyses;

    (b) Prognoses one to three days in advance, including:

    (i) Surface and upper-air prognoses of pressure (geopotential), temperature, humidity and wind in map or other form;

    (ii) Diagnostic interpretation of numerical weather prediction (NWP) products to give:

    • Areal distribution of cloudiness;

    • Precipitation location, occurrence, amount and type;

    • Sequences at specific locations (time diagrams), at the surface and aloft, of temperature, pressure, wind, humidity, etc., subject to agreement between Members where appropriate;

    • Vorticity advection, temperature/thickness advection, vertical motion, stability indices, moisture distribution, and other derived parameters as agreed by Members;

    • Jet-stream location and tropopause/layer of maximum wind;

    • Numerical products providing sea-state or storm-surge forecasts;

    (c) Prognoses four to ten days in advance, including:

    (i) Surface and upper-air prognoses of pressure (geopotential), temperature, humidity and wind;

    (ii) Outlooks of temperature, precipitation, humidity and wind in map or other form;

    (d) Extended- and long-range forecasts of averaged weather parameters as appropriate, including sea-surface temperature, temperature extremes and precipitation;

    (e) Interpretation of numerical products using relations derived by statistical or statistical/ dynamical methods to produce maps or spot forecasts of probability of precipitation or precipitation type, maximum and minimum temperature, probability of thunderstorm occurrence, etc.;

    (f) Sea-state and storm-surge forecasts using models driven by winds from global NWP models;

    (g) Environmental quality monitoring and prediction products;

    (h) Independent real-time quality control of the Level II and Level III data defined in Note (3) to paragraph 1.5.2.

    1.1.2 Real-time products and services for tropical areas

    For tropical areas, the GDPS should provide the following products and services in real time:

    (a) Surface and upper-air analyses;

    (b) Prognoses one to three days in advance, including:

    (i) Surface and upper-air prognoses, particularly of wind and humidity in map or other form;

    (ii) Diagnostic interpretation of NWP products to give:

    • Areal distribution of cloudiness;

    • Precipitation location/occurrence/amounts;

    • Time sequence of weather parameters at specific locations, subject to agreement between Members, where appropriate;

    • Vorticity, divergence, velocity potential, vertical motion, stability indices, moisture distribution and other derived parameters as agreed by Members;

    • Jet stream and layer of maximum wind locations;

    • Numerical products providing sea-state or storm-surge forecasts;

    (iii) The use of special NWP nested models or diagnostic interpretation of fine-mesh global models to give:

    • Tropical storm positions and tracks;

    • Tropical depression and easterly wave positions and movement;

    (c) Prognoses four to five days in advance, including:

    (i) Surface and upper-air prognoses, particularly of wind and humidity;

    (ii) Outlooks of precipitation, wind, cloudiness and wet and dry periods;

    (iii) Life cycle of tropical storms;

    (d) Extended- and long-range forecasts of averaged weather parameters, as appropriate, including sea-surface temperature, temperature range and precipitation;

    (e) Interpretation of NWP prognoses using statistical or statistical/dynamical methods to produce maps or specific location forecasts of cloudiness, temperature range, precipitation probability, etc.;

    (f) Environmental quality monitoring and prediction products;

    (g) Sea-state and storm-surge forecasts using models driven by winds from global NWP models;

    (h) Independent real-time quality control of the Level II and Level III data defined in Note (3) to paragraph 1.5.2.

    1.1.3 Non-real-time products and services

    The GDPS should also provide the following products and services in non-real time:

    (a) Long-range weather and climate monitoring products when operationally useful;

    (b) Climate-related diagnoses (10- or 30-day mean charts, summaries, anomalies, etc.) particularly for the tropical/subtropical belt;

    (c) Intercomparison of products, verification and diagnostic studies, as well as NWP model development;

    (d) Access to data, products and intercomparison results using internationally-accepted formats and media;

    (e) Provision of continuously updated catalogues of data and products;

    (f) Regional and global analyses (circulated by Members or research institutions) of the atmosphere and oceans, including means and anomalies of surface and upper-air pressure, temperature, wind and humidity, ocean currents, sea-surface temperature, and ocean surface layer temperature; derived indices, including blocking and teleconnection indices;

    (g) Satellite remote sensing products distributed by Members; including outgoing long-wave radiation, sea-surface elevation, normalized vegetation indices;

    (h) Monthly and annual means or totals for each year of a decade (e.g. 1971–1980, etc.) and the corresponding decadal (10-year) averages of pressure (station level and mean sea level), temperature and precipitation, principally from CLIMAT reporting stations;

    (i) Climatological standard normals (for the periods 1931–1960, 1961–1990, etc.) of selected elements, principally from CLIMAT reporting stations;

    (j) Guidelines on the operational use of GDPS centre products; and

    (k) Carrying out periodic monitoring of the operation of the WWW.

    1.2 Functions of Members responsible for GDPS centres

    1.2.1 Interpretation at NMCs

    National Meteorological Centres (NMCs) should be able to use, interpret and interact fully with GDPS products in order to reap the benefits of the WWW system. Appropriate guidance on the methods for the interpretation of the GDPS output to end-user products should be made available to Members, as well as methods for the verification and intercomparison of forecasts.

    1.2.2 Accessibility of products

    GDPS products should be accessible through a system of World Meteorological Centres (WMCs) and Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs)* with functions and responsibilities as defined in the Manual and according to agreements among Members when appropriate.

    * The present structure of the GDPS is given in Appendix I-1.

    1.2.3 Data Management

    The WWW Data Management function shall be used to coordinate the real-time storage, quality control, monitoring and handling of GDPS data and products.

    1.3 WMC responsibilities

    1.3.1 Output products

    Each WMC applying sophisticated high-resolution global NWP models should prepare for distribution to Members and other GDPS centres the following products, based on the list in paragraphs 1.1 to 1.1.3 above:

    (a) Global (hemispheric) analysis products;

    (b) Short-, medium-, extended- and long-range weather forecasts with global coverage presented separately, if required, for:

    (i) The tropical belt;

    (ii) The middle and high latitudes or any other geographical area according to Members’ requirements;

    (c) Climate-related diagnostic products, particularly for tropical regions;

    (d) Environmental quality monitoring, analyses, forecasts and prediction products.

    1.3.1.1 Global model products required to meet the needs of all WMO Programmes should be made available to national and regional centres at the highest possible resolution given technological and other constraints.

    1.3.2 Use of products

    WMCs should also carry out verification and intercomparison of products and make results available to all Members concerned, support the inclusion of research results into operational models and their supporting systems and provide training courses on the use of WMC products.

    1.3.3 The functions of a WMC should also include the following non-real-time activities:

    (a) Carrying out the development of research in support of large- and planetary-scale analyses and forecasting;

    (b) Exchanging technical information with other centres;

    (c) Providing opportunities for training personnel in data processing;

    (d) Managing non-real-time data involving:

    (i) Collection and quality control of data not available from the GOS in real-time, via mail or other means;

    (ii) Storage and retrieval of all basic observational data and processed information needed for large- and planetary-scale research and applications;

    (iii) Making non-real-time data available to Members or research institutes upon request;

    (e) Continuously updating and providing, on request, catalogues of available products.

    1.4    RSMC responsibilities

    1.4.1 Output products

    1.4.1.1 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) with geographical specialization

    Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) with geographical specialization shall be designated in each Region, capable of preparing with the support of WMCs, and where applicable RSMCs outside the Region, analyses and short-, medium-, extended- and long-range weather forecasts with the highest possible quality and with meteorological content, geographical coverage and frequency required by Members and agreed for the system. Output products from RSMCs should comprise:

    (a) Analyses and prognoses at the surface and/or in the free atmosphere for short-, medium-, extended- and long-ranges, for the tropical, subtropical and extra-tropical areas, according to the obligations of each RSMC and as agreed by the Regional Association;

    (b) Interpreted forecasts of specific weather parameters in map form or at specific locations (e.g. precipitation amounts, temperature, wind, humidity, etc.), subject to agreement between Members, where appropriate;

    (c) Guidance on storm-position and track forecasts for the areas affected by tropical storms;

    (d) Climate analyses, long-range forecasts, onset, intensity and cessation of the rainy season(s);

    (e) Environmental quality monitoring and predictions, such as UV-B;

    (f) Results of forecast verifications and intercomparison studies.

    1.4.1.2 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) with activity specialization

    Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) with activity specialization shall be designated, subject to the formal commitment by a Member or group of cooperating Members, to fulfil the required functions of the centre and meet the requirements for the provision of WWW products and services initiated and endorsed by the relevant WMO constituent body or bodies concerned. The centre should be capable of preparing independently or with the support of WMCs, and where appropriate, other GDPS centres and disseminating to Members concerned:

    (a) Global medium-range forecasts and related analyses;

    (b) Extended- and long-range weather forecasts and related mean analysed values and anomalies;

    (c) Tropical cyclone warnings and advisories, storm position, intensity and track forecasts for their areas;

    (d) Three-dimensional environmental emergency response transport model trajectories, integrated pollutant concentration, and total deposition;

    (e) Drought monitoring products such as drought indices.

    1.4.1.3 Regional model output products required to meet the needs of all WMO Programmes should be made available to national centres at the highest possible resolution given technological and other constraints.

    1.4.1.4 The overall list of output products required for international exchange from GDPS centres is given in Appendix II-6.

    1.4.2 Binary/character conversion capabilities for transmission

    In order to meet the requirements of NMCs for output products in character representation and/or graphical form, all RSMCs should have facilities for conversion of products from binary to character and/or graphical form for regional transmission.

    1.4.3 Constraints for adjacent centres

    To the maximum extent feasible, adjacent RSMCs with geographical specialization should be prepared to assume each other’s functions. This does not necessarily mean that each RSMC should be prepared to use the analytical models employed by RSMCs adjacent to it. Each RSMC should, however, be able to issue products covering equivalent geographical areas and to give information generally similar to that contained in the products of adjacent RSMCs.

    1.4.4 The functions of an RSMC should also include the following non-real-time activities:

    (a) Assistance in the management of non-real-time data involving:

    (i) Assistance to the WMC in management and maintenance of non-real-time data, in particular by obtaining late and delayed observational data for its area of responsiblity;

    (ii) Storage and retrieval of basic observational data and processed information needed to discharge the non-real-time responsiblities of the RSMC;

    (iii) Making non-real-time data available to Members or research institutes upon request;

    (b) Development and refinement of new techniques and applications;

    (c) Carrying out comparative verifications of RSMC products and making results available to all Members concerned;

    (d) Regular exchange with other centres of information on techniques and procedures used and results achieved;

    (e) Providing opportunities for training of personnel in manual and automated techniques;

    (f) Continuously updating and providing, on request, a catalogue of available products.

    1.5 Members’ responsibilities

    Each Member shall ensure that it has a National Meteorological Centre adequately staffed and equipped to enable it to play its part in the World Weather Watch.

    1.5.1 NMC functions

    Each Member should ensure that its National Meteorological Centre performs the functions defined in Part I, paragraph 4.1.3 and as elaborated in Part II, paragraphs 1.1 to 1.2.3.

    1.5.2 Checking of collected information

    Each Member shall designate a National Meteorological Centre, or other appropriate centre, to be
    responsible for meteorological checking of information collected before transmission on the Global Telecommunication System.

    Notes:

    (1) It is for each Member to decide, in the light of its own capabilities and needs, the extent to which it wishes to receive and use products of WMCs and RSMCs.

    (2) The telecommunication functions of World Meteorological Centres and National Meteorological Centres are specified in the Manual on the GTS.

    (3) Definition of data levels. In discussing the operation of the GDPS it is convenient to use the following classification of
    data levels, which was introduced in connection with the data-processing system for the Global Atmospheric Research
    Programme (GARP):

    Level I: Primary data. In general these are instrument readings expressed in appropriate physical units and referred to Earth coordinates. Examples are: radiances or positions of constant-level balloons, etc. but not raw telemetry signals. Level I data still require conversion to the meteorological parameters specified in the data requirements.

    Level II: Meteorological parameters. These are obtained directly from many kinds of simple instruments, or derived from the Level I data (e.g. average winds from subsequent positions of constant-level balloons).

    Level III: Initial state parameters. These are internally consistent data sets, in grid-point form obtained from Level II data by applying established initialization procedures. At those centres where manual techniques are employed, Level III data sets will consist of a set of manually-produced initial analyses.

    1.5.3 The functions of an NMC should also include the following non-real-time activities:

    (a) Support, as required, of the appropriate RSMC in managing non-real-time data, including management of its national database;

    (b) Storage and retrieval (including quality control) of observational data and processed information to meet national and certain international requirements;

    (c) Research concerning operations to meet national requirements.

    Source: Functions of WMCs, RSMCs and NMCs, www.wmo.ch/web/www/DPS/Functions-WMC-RSMC-NMC.html, downloaded February 26, 2001.

    2. Except where indicated as otherwise, all of the NMS visions and the ECMWF vision listed on this webpage were collected on February 18, 2001. The WMO vision and all of the WMO publications listed on this webpage were collected on February 26, 2001. The sources are the respective websites, which are linked to in the left-most column above. Links to most NMS's are provided by Roger Brugge, NOAA, and WMO.



    This page was last updated February 26, 2001.