NOAA Releases Official Statement Regarding Hurricane Sandy Assessment
By: Bryan Tolle, Meteorologist
Updated: December 11, 2012
HAGERSTOWN, MD - After learning of a statement released last week during the National Hurricane Conference about a potential change to the definition and criteria for a Hurricane Warning, we are now learning more about why there has been a delay in the official Service Assessment from Hurricane Sandy.
WHAG has obtained a statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Deputy Under Secretary of Operations, Dr. David Titley:
"NOAA has commissioned a team to assess the performance of the National Weather Service during Hurricane/Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy.
It is a multi-disciplinary team that includes two social scientists and 10 experts from across NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Members of the team who work for the National Weather Service were chosen from around the country and did not forecast Sandy. This allows for an impartial and unbiased review.
The team leader is a scientist with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service who has extensive management and team lead experience. He will oversee all field work, the development of findings and recommendations, and the drafting of the assessment report.
The team will focus on three main areas: the philosophies and policies behind the forecast and the weather watch and warning products and how they are communicated; how storm surge products are produced and issued from multiple NOAA Line Offices; and the web presence as a tool for communicating with the public.
The team will deliver a concise report that identifies facts, findings, and best practices, and it will make recommendations for process changes and service improvements that can be made within six months. The team will start work this month and will begin its field work on January 6. Interim findings are due to NOAA leadership in the spring, with the final report due shortly thereafter.
I look forward to the findings and any recommended ways the National Weather Service can do an even better job to protect life and property through timely and accurate forecasts."
For more information on the statement released about the potential changes to the Hurricane Warning criteria/definition, click here: National Hurricane Center Considers Hurricane Warning Change After Sandy
WHAG has obtained a statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Deputy Under Secretary of Operations, Dr. David Titley:
"NOAA has commissioned a team to assess the performance of the National Weather Service during Hurricane/Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy.
It is a multi-disciplinary team that includes two social scientists and 10 experts from across NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Members of the team who work for the National Weather Service were chosen from around the country and did not forecast Sandy. This allows for an impartial and unbiased review.
The team leader is a scientist with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service who has extensive management and team lead experience. He will oversee all field work, the development of findings and recommendations, and the drafting of the assessment report.
The team will focus on three main areas: the philosophies and policies behind the forecast and the weather watch and warning products and how they are communicated; how storm surge products are produced and issued from multiple NOAA Line Offices; and the web presence as a tool for communicating with the public.
The team will deliver a concise report that identifies facts, findings, and best practices, and it will make recommendations for process changes and service improvements that can be made within six months. The team will start work this month and will begin its field work on January 6. Interim findings are due to NOAA leadership in the spring, with the final report due shortly thereafter.
I look forward to the findings and any recommended ways the National Weather Service can do an even better job to protect life and property through timely and accurate forecasts."
For more information on the statement released about the potential changes to the Hurricane Warning criteria/definition, click here: National Hurricane Center Considers Hurricane Warning Change After Sandy
