NOTE: The nws-changes mailing list is no longer active. The list archives are made available for historical reasons.
-------- Original Message --------
301
NOUS41 KWBC 191810
PNSWSH
Service Change Notice 13-72
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
110 PM EST Tue Nov 19 2013
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
-NOAAPort
Other NWS Partners and NWS Employees
From: Eli Jacks
Chief, Fire and Public Weather Services Branch
Mary Mullusky
Acting Chief, Hydrologic Services Division
Subject: Tornado and Flash Flood Emergency Headlines Added
Effective February 4, 2014
Effective Tuesday, February 4, 2014, at 1500 Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC), NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) will
have the option to add a headline in a Tornado Warning (TOR) that
includes the terminology "TORNADO EMERGENCY" and in a Flash Flood
Warning (FFW) that includes the terminology "FLASH FLOOD
EMERGENCY". The headlines will only be used on rare occasions
when all of the following criteria are met:
a. Severe threat to human life is imminent or ongoing
b. Catastrophic damage is imminent or ongoing
c. Reliable sources confirm a tornado or flash flood
These headlines will effectively highlight the potential for
large scale loss of life and catastrophic property damage in
these rare Tornado and Flash Flood events.
The headlines will be on their own line directly following the
date/time line in the WMO Header, and before the first line that
begins "THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN XXX HAS ISSUED A", where
"XXX" is the WFO location. The headline will be preceded and
followed by a three dot ellipsis. For example:
...TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR MOORE AND SOUTH OKLAHOMA CITY...
or
...FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR CENTRAL KENT COUNTY...
These new headlines will duplicate, not replace, the inclusion of
"TORNADO EMERGENCY" or "FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY" in the last line
of the third bullet, i.e., the basis statement of the warning.
Partners and users who receive or provide services based on the
parsing of exact text strings are advised to allow for these
headlines in their software and system operations.
This change does not impact the Severe Weather Statement (SVS) or
Flash Flood Statement (FFS) that currently allow headlines for
Tornado and Flash Flood Emergencies.
A more detailed description and examples of a Tornado Warning
and a Flash Flood Warning that include the new headline are
online at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/vtec/TORFFWemerheadline.htm
For more information, please contact:
John Ferree
NWS Severe Storms Services
Norman, OK 73072
john.t.ferree@xxxxxxxx
405-325-2209
Edward Clark
NWS Hydrologic Services Division
Silver Spring, MD 20910
edward.clark@xxxxxxxx
301-713-0006 x 156
National Service Change Notices are online at:
http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
$$
nws-changes archives: