Decision Support Services Then and Now

Decision Support ServicesThen and NowDecision Support ServicesThen and Now

Christine Krause

Forecaster, NWS Amarillo

Goodwell Train Incident – June 24, 2012

Decision Support in the PastDecision Support in the Past

•The National Weather Service has a long history ofDecision Support.

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•Past efforts were focused upon on-site support forforest fires.

•Today, technology and social-media allows forecast officesto adopt these methods insupport of local incidents.

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Changes in TechnologyChanges in Technology

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•The 1960’s technologyhad been in place atoffices since the early1980’s

–Cumbersome andcrude

Operations TodayOperations Today

•NWS Amarillo has asituational awarenessdisplay in operations.

•Can look at up to 15different models, satellite,and radar displays.

•All NWS offices will beupgrading to AWIPS 2 soonwhich allows for greateramount of data to bedisplayed at once.

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Decision Support ServicesProvided TodayDecision Support ServicesProvided Today

•HYSPLIT – Dispersion and Plume Modeling

•Graphicasts

•Go-To-Meeting

•On-Site Support

Decision Support Services TodayDecision Support Services Today

•All staff at NWS offices received training on the ICSstructure.

•All staff at NWS offices took a series of trainingmodules covering the basics of dispersionmeteorology – plume dispersion properties.

•This training allowedforecasters to learn toprovide pertinentweather information toemergency responderswhich leads to greaterNWS Support DuringHazardous MaterialsEmergencies.

NWS’s roleNWS’s role

HYSPLIT – What is this program?HYSPLIT – What is this program?

•HYSPLIT is designed to hone in on how small-scale, difficult-to-detect particles are likely to flow through theatmosphere.

•Thus HYSPLIT is usually called into action for incidents suchas:

•chemical spills

•large fires

•smoke plumes

HYSPLIT - ContinuedHYSPLIT - Continued

•NWS forecasters are equipped torespond to requests fordispersion forecasts from stateand local emergency managers.

•HYSPLIT uses weather models tocompute trajectory, stability, anddispersion.

•If you have a Hazmat incident,consider calling NWS Amarillo fora HYSPLIT dispersion model.

What we need from you in orderto run HYSPLITWhat we need from you in orderto run HYSPLIT

•Who?

•Where?

•When?

•What?

•How Much?

•How Long?

•Format – Google Earth or Google Maps?

•www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/n?=hazmat

GraphicastsGraphicasts

•Graphicasts contain a “screaming message”, which iswhat the highest impact event is expected in theforecast area in the next week or so.

•They are event driven and are available on ourwebpage and Facebook page.

Based on this graphic, what doyou think the “screaming

message” is?

NWS Conference Calls/Go-To-MeetingNWS Conference Calls/Go-To-Meeting

GoToMeeting Briefing Webinars are provided for:

Winter Storms

Severe Weather

Extremely Critical Fire Weather Conditions

Briefing slides can be found at the top of the webpage:weather.gov/ama

Typical Call Times:

10am/11am

4pm/5pm

Day of Event: 5am (For Schools)

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Go-To-Webinar Briefing Slide ExamplesUtilized Prior to the Wildfire OutbreakGo-To-Webinar Briefing Slide ExamplesUtilized Prior to the Wildfire Outbreak

On-site SupportOn-site Support

•Extra forecasters areneeded to providedecision support servicesduring hazardous weatherconditions.

•When requested, NWSforecasters can bedeployed outside of theoffice to provide onsitesupport.

On-site SupportOn-site Support

•A portable weather sensor can be used to providecurrent weather conditions such as temperature,dew point, relative humidity, and winds.

•This can help first responders who are working theincident.

Additional Decision SupportServices Provided TodayAdditional Decision SupportServices Provided Today

Goodwell, OK TrainCollision...What Happened?Goodwell, OK TrainCollision...What Happened?

•At 9:45 AM CDT, two trainscollided near Goodwell.

•The westbound train wascarrying finished automobilesand the eastbound train hadmixed freight.

•The collision ignited a dieselfuel blaze which shut downHighway 54 for five to six hours.

•There were three fatalities.

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Decision Support ServicesProvided for this incidentDecision Support ServicesProvided for this incident

•Phone briefings wererequested in the eveningas officials were stillworking at the site.

•However communicationswere lost in this area asAT&T had their phonelines cut.

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What Else Happened?What Else Happened?

•We were able to provide weather briefings to theNorthwest Coordinator for the Oklahoma EmergencyManagement as he was in Oklahoma City at the time.

•The loss in communications also resulted in the loss ofobservations in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

•Observations eventually came back after being down foraround 5 hours.

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Onsite Support – Amarillo/Potter/RandallOffice of Emergency Management (OEM) atthe Emergency Operations Center (EOC)Onsite Support – Amarillo/Potter/RandallOffice of Emergency Management (OEM) atthe Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

•A forecaster was dispatched to supportthe Amarillo/Potter/Randall OEM at theEOC by being placed in the PlanningSection in an Incident Command Systemthat was dealing with the fires.

•By using an office laptop computer andlocal Internet access, weatherinformation including wind and humiditywere retrieved and relayed to planningpersonnel to help firefighters and policeofficers work together to put out firesand evacuate persons.

Significant Fires from 27 February 2011across Potter & Randall counties

Significant

Fire Locations

Questions?Questions?

Christine KrauseChristine Krause

Christine.krause@noaa.govChristine.krause@noaa.gov

I would like to thank Harold Tyson, Emergency Manager of TexasCounty for background information on the Goodwell train collision.