National Weather Service invites public to see behind the scenes

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Most people think of the National Weather Service as the people behind the scroll on the bottom of their television screen during severe weather. After that, it is a case of out of sight, out of mind. However, members of the staff of the National Weather Service are always there, 24-7, manning the dozens of computers and monitors, remaining ever-vigilant.

The National Weather Service in Peachtree City held an open house last Saturday, letting members of the public see how they operate and get the weather to the citizens when they need it most. Lans Rothfusz, the facility’s meteorologist in charge, stated that the open house, which is typically an annual event, is important around this time of year because Georgia is entering what he considers to be the “second season of severe weather.”

“Spring is a time when Georgia experiences a lot of severe weather,” said Rothfusz. “However, between summer and winter, the period between mid-November and January, another round of severe weather hits. This is not the time of year to let your guard down.”

While the staff of 50 employees at the National Weather Service in Peachtree City monitor all of the weather, all the time, they really shine when severe weather hits. Through the tour during the open house, visitors got to stop at each station and see how the information is processed and disseminated to the public.

The first stop on the tour was Operations. This area was highly technology driven and featured 35 monitors visible from all over. This is where all of the data collection and forecasting starts.

The Peachtree City branch of the National Weather Service is the largest of six offices in Georgia. Not only are all six branches linked but all of the offices in the nation are linked. The information can focus on an extremely short term forecast for a very small area and can expand to look at a long term forecast for a large area.

The second stop was where the weather radio broadcast center was located, which was a few strides away. Reports are sent to the computers and an entirely computer synthesized voice broadcasts the reports. The entire system is digitally operated but if a transmitter goes out, certain buttons can be pushed to make sure the necessary report goes to the required area.

The next stop was the warning area, which is where specific severe weather warnings are generated. An operator picks an area on a map and the text of that warning is generated and sent via computer to the weather radio. The operator can look for specific things to narrow the search and also links with the local authorities and their information as well as information from amateur radio operators and volunteers in the field who give a first hand account of the area that is being affected.

During severe weather, there are typically two amateur radio volunteers at the branch. One operator will take the information and the other will get the information out to other areas. There are several types of radios on hand and one radio can go worldwide. One one occasion, it was even known to reach the South Pole. Their information is very thorough and by establishing a network of volunteers in seemingly every area, their data can chart everything from their current position to what time a gust of wind hit. Their website, www.georgiaskywarn.com, can give more information and allow citizens another place to chart weather.

The next stop on the tour was the Southeast River Forecast Center, which is the second half of the National Weather Service. They cover an area that includes all rivers East of Mobile Bay and stretches from some parts of Virginia to Puerto Rico and as far west as Mississippi. They measure all rainfall in that area through the use of rain gages, 1,500 in the Southeast, and radar. Their job is important because not only can they tell when areas are in danger of flash flooding but they can also predict river floods.

Outside of the tour, visitors also got a chance to see a weather balloon. Weather balloons are released every 12 hours in over 1,000 locations. They rise 1,000 feet per second and burst at 90,000 feet. A parachute guarantees a soft landing for instrumentation inside and the weather balloon can give detailed atmospheric information. The weather balloons are used in conjunction with radars to give the staff at the National Weather Service the information needed to give the public the weather.

As for what the winter holds weather wise for Georgians, Rothfusz stated that unlike other years, there are no indications either way this year. “This is not an El Nino or La Nina year. It is pretty even and that makes a long range forecast more difficult.”

For naysayers out there who think that meteorologists are often wrong, when asked about the weather for Sunday, the day after the tour, Rothfusz guaranteed rain. He was right.