Joseph Schaefer, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Okla., has received the 2003 Presidential Rank Award for exceptional long-term accomplishments. He was among a group of federal senior executives recently honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Presidential Rank Award is a prestigious award given to a select group of senior federal executives who have provided exceptional service to the American people over an extended period of time.

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When severe weather threatens this spring, nine Norman schools and the Washington (Okla.) School District will be better prepared as a result of donations made by local employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Today (March 6) and tomorrow, representatives of the National Severe Storms Laboratory/Storm Prediction Center Employees Association (NSEA) will present NOAA weather radios to the schools, to coincide with Severe Weather Awareness Week in Oklahoma.

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As the traditional tornado season comes to an end this month, tornado activity in the United States has remained low, according to NOAA’s National Weather Service. The unofficial count of 451 tornadoes reported by July 24 is half of the 10-year average of 914 tornadoes and the lowest mid-year count since 1988, said officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the Commerce Department.

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Only 11 tornadoes touched down so far in 2002 – approximately six percent of the average 178 tornadoes the nation experiences by this time of year according to NOAA’s National Weather Service. But officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the Commerce Department, are reminding Americans this week to be prepared as the nation enters its most active season for tornadoes.

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Executives from WeatherNews, Inc., the largest and most diversified privately owned weather and environmental information company in the world, met recently with two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration organizations in Norman, Okla. during a weeklong visit to the state.

Jeff Kimpel, Director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Russell Schneider, Science Support Branch Chief for the Storm Prediction Center, met with WNI founder and global CEO Hiro Ishibashi to explore possible collaboration with NOAA, the University of Oklahoma and private sector weather groups in Norman.

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The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded its Silver Medal Award to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla for public service and meritorious contributions. The Storm Prediction Center, along with the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham, Ala., received the medal for providing the citizens of Alabama life-saving tornado watch and warning information during the tornado outbreak of December 16, 2000.

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A local weather forecaster recently received a prestigious award from the National Weather Association, just in time for his retirement. Robert H. Johns, the Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Okla., received the T. Theodore Fujita Research Achievement Award during the National Weather Association’s recent meeting in Spokane, Wash. The Fujita award is presented to an NWA member whose research has made a significant contribution to operational meteorology. The NWA recognized Johns for his research achievements in severe weather and tornado forecasting.

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Thunderstorms with lightning, hail, strong winds and tornadoes can be devastating, resulting in hundreds of deaths and millions of dollars in damage each year. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers and forecasters in Norman, Okla., are working toward improving the tools used to predict such storms. Their aim is to provide the public more time to prepare for severe thunderstorm events.

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Nearly 60 surplus federal computers that would have been discarded by two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies in Norman, the Radar Operations Center and the Storm Prediction Center, will instead serve to protect the lives and property of Oklahoma citizens and further the education of Oklahoma youth.

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NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has changed the way it issues daily national severe weather outlooks to provide more specific information about the type of severe weather threat expected, which will help emergency managers and the general public better prepare for the impending severe weather.

The new, more detailed forecasts began Jan. 31 and include probability forecasts for three separate types of threats associated with severe thunderstorms: tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. They are included in the daily convective outlooks, which are forecasts identifying where severe storms are likely to occur today and tomorrow. The probabilistic outlooks complement the SPC’s categorical outlooks indicating where there is a “slight,” “moderate” or “high” risk of severe thunderstorms.

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