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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
230 PM EST FRI APR 1 1994
TO: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS) EMPLOYEES, FAMILY OF
SERVICES (FOS) SUBSCRIBERS, NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
(NWWS) SUBSCRIBERS, OTHER PRODUCT USERS
FROM: DONALD R. WERNLY, CHIEF, WARNING AND FORECAST BRANCH
SUBJECT: FARGO (FAR), NORTH DAKOTA WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE'S
SHORT-FUSE COUNTY WARNING AREA EXPANDS...EFFECTIVE
JUNE 1, 1994
Effective June 1, 1994 at 10:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time, the
National Weather Service (NWS) will transfer short-fused warning
responsibility for two counties in northern Minnesota (Table 1)
TO the Fargo (FAR), North Dakota Weather Service Office (WSO)
FROM the International Falls (INL) WSO.
WSO FAR will issue short-fused warning products (Table 2) and
related products that give followup information on the warnings
(Table 3). For holders of the NWS Operations Manual Chapter
C-47, County Warning Areas, this transfer is the 12th update of
the latest chapter issuance for 1994.
Because of this county warning transfer, subscribers to the NOAA
Weather Wire service (NWWS) and the Family of Services (FOS) must
take appropriate action to receive the short-fused warnings and
related products for the two counties using the FAR identifier
(Tables 2 and 3) instead of the INL identifiers. For example, if
you have been receiving severe thunderstorm warnings using the
NWWS product identifier MSPSVRINL, you will have to add or change
your product identifier to BISSVRFAR. The Universal Generic
Codes (UGC), however, will remain unchanged (as shown in
Table 1).
Table 1
county UGC county UGC zone from to
FIPS code code
Beltrami MNC007- MNZ009- & 017- INL FAR
Clearwater MNC029- MNZ016- & 023- INL FAR
Table 2
The following are short-fused warning products for the two
counties transferred to WSO FAR. UGC county FIPS codes are used
in these products.
Warning products for AFOS/NWWS ID WMO HEADER
tornadoes BISTORFAR WFUS1 KFAR
severe thunderstorms BISSVRFAR WUUS1 KFAR
flash floods BISFFWBIS WRUS1 KFAR
Table 3
The following are related products for the two counties
transferred to WSO FAR. UGC zone codes are used in these
products.
Related products AFOS/NWWS ID WMO HEADER
special weather statement BISSPSFAR WWUS35 KFAR
severe weather statement BISSVSFAR WWUS34 KFAR
civil emergency message BISCEMFAR MMUS40 KFAR
public infor. statement BISPNSFAR ABUS34 KFAR
* winter weather warnings BISWSWFAR WWUS46 KFAR
* non-precipitation warnings BISNPWFAR WWUS45 KFAR
short-term forecast BISNOWFAR FXUS21 KFAR
flash flood statement BISFFSFAR RWUS32 KFAR
local storm report BISLSRFAR WWUS30 KFAR
* used for emergency backup to the Weather Service Forecast
Office (WSFO) in Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) (NWWS/WMO
headers MSPWSWMSP/WWUS46 KMSP, MSPNPWMSP/WWUS45 KMSP)
Users should continue to receive products from the WSFO MSP for
longer-fused event warnings for these counties, including those
from the first six categories listed in Table 3.
If you have further questions, you may contact the following:
Craig M. Edwards, Meteorologist in Charge - Area Manager
National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA
6301 34th ave S, FAA Bldg.
Minneapolis, MN 55450-2985
(612) 725-6090
Donald E. Stoltz, Meteorologist in Charge - Area Manager
National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA
Box 1016 - 2301 University Drive, Bldg. 21
Bismarck, ND 58502-1016
(701) 250-4224
Lucius M. Bennett, Official in Charge
National Weather Service, NOAA
Room 212
1801 23rd Avenue N.
Fargo, ND 58102-1047
(701) 232-7494
Acting Official in Charge
National Weather Service, NOAA
Route 9, Box 117
International Falls, MN 56649-9706
(218) 283-4615
END
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
430 PM EST THU MAR 31 1994
The following is a Copywrited (c) 1994 Associated Press story by
Randolph F. Schmid. All Rights Reserved.
VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE ANNOUNCES WARNING SYSTEM PROGRAM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's greatly improved weather warnings
can't help people who do not know about them, so the federal
government is trying to make sure that the word gets out.
Vice President Al Gore announced that a three-agency effort
Thursday to expand the current NOAA Weather Radio to include all
types of disaster warnings, and to increase coverage to 95
percent of Americans.
The 350-station NOAA Weather Radio network now covers about 75
percent of the population.
The announcement came in the wake of devastating Palm Sunday
tornadoes that claimed at least 43 lives in Alabama, Georgia,
Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
Although the National Weather Service issued warnings nearly
20 minutes before the first tornado touched down, "the weak link
in the chain was the inability to get that warning information to
all of the people in the threatened area," Gore said. "And it is
that weak link in the chain that we are fixing with this
initiative."
The largest number of deaths occurred in a church far from
warning sirens and on the fringe of the current weather radio
network. But even people close to the radio stations won't get
the word if they aren't tuned in, officials pointed out.
Radios costing less than $25 turn themselves on automatically
when the weather radio network broadcasts a special alert tone.
Gore said "special emphasis will be placed on getting these
radios installed in public gathering places so they will be as
common as smoke detectors."
"It sits silently in the church, in the school, in the community
center, in the nursing home, unheard and unheeded, until a
warning is sounded," Gore said. "Priority will be given to
areas most at risk...tornado alley and coastal areas at risk from
hurricanes."
Weather Service officials estimate that about 8 million of the
radios are in use. Gore said an effort is under way to develop
an automatic warning system for cable television.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is joining the Weather
Service in the project, and the system will also start offering
warnings for dangers such as the hazardous materials spills, said
FEMA head James Lee Witt.
And Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy said his department will take
part, making low-interest loans to communities that want to build
warning stations and sometimes allowing use of Rural
Electrification Administration towers.
National Weather Service Director Elbert W. "Joe" Friday said
about 100 new broadcasting stations costing $35,000 to $40,000
each will be needed to extend the radio warning service to 95
percent of the country.
In many cases, private organizations, such as citrus growers, and
local businesses and governments help pay, Friday said.
NOAA Weather Radio is named for the Weather Service's parent
agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Friday noted that the introduction of 70 new high-tech radar
units over the last couple of years has vastly improved warnings,
doubling forecast accuracy in many areas. More than 100 of the
new radars will be in place by 1995, he said.
The weather service is planning to launch a new weather satellite
April 12, which offers the potential for more detailed local
forecasts. And it is in the process of upgrading its computer
systems and other weather monitoring instruments.
[end of Associated Press story]
NOTE FROM NWS PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Bob Landis, NWS Deputy Director
for Operations, will appear on ABC's Good Morning America at
7:08 AM EST to discuss new weather technology and dissemination
of watches and warnings in response to Vice President Gore's
press conference this morning.
END
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