As announced at the NWS Partners Meeting at the American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD during January 2024, the National Weather Service (NWS) is implementing a plan to make the agency more flexible. Information about NWS Transformation objectives and activities can be found at the following web address:

NWS Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future — “Ken’s 10” | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noaa.gov)

NWS Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future — “Ken’s 10”

Transforming the NWS into a more nimble, flexible, and mobile agency that works eye-to-eye with critical decision-makers in building a more Weather-Ready and Climate-Ready Nation.

The National Weather Service (NWS) Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future – more fondly known throughout the NWS as “Ken’s 10”, named after NWS Director Ken Graham – are designed to ensure that the NWS remains an indispensable, global leader in providing equitable weather, water, and climate services to decision-makers anytime, anywhere. Taking on ten key initiatives at a time, Ken’s 10 is building a workplace focused on the health and well-being of the NWS’ people, infrastructure, and future.

About

When NWS Director Ken Graham began his tenure in June of 2022, he embarked on a series of conversations with employees that highlighted a major opportunity for the NWS to pioneer a more nimble, flexible, and mobile agency. These conversations inspired the creation of ten priority initiatives titled “The NWS Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future,” designed to build an NWS that provides decision support services when, how, and where they’re needed to create a more Weather-Ready and Climate-Ready Nation.

The NWS Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future serve three overarching themes: People, Infrastructure, and Future, as outlined by the NWS Strategic Plan 2023-2033 and Transformation Roadmap, and they focus resources and attention on common issues, clarify common goals, and acknowledge areas that need concentrated problem-solving and decision-making.

These change initiatives are not inclusive of all the important work happening across NWS, nor are they meant to cover the breadth of all NWS mission areas or the NWS projects underway and on a path to delivering results.

How it Works

Behind each initiative is a designated team of experts and leaders from across the NWS tasked with carrying the project from inception to final execution. When one project finishes, another will take its place, ensuring that there are always ten in “Ken’s 10.” Learn more about ongoing and completed projects below.

If you’re interested in learning more about the NWS Priorities & Action Strategies for the Future, please don’t hesitate to contact NWS Partnership Engagement Lead Cindy Elsenheimer or NWS Director of Change Management Richard Antoine.

https://redlineperf.com/

RedLine’s focus is on High-Performance Computing (HPC) at the application and system layers, with a history of consistently helping NOAA/NWS meet their mission objectives for the entirety of their 25-year corporate lifetime.  RedLine has worked with numerous models in various analyst and scientific software development roles, supporting both NOAA’s operational/production and research/development environments. The depth of RedLine’s expertise extends beyond scientific software development to managing the daily, 24×7 operational workload of NOAA’s models, and engineering, optimizing, and administering supercomputers and their system software. RedLine has grown to be a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador and American Meteorological Society (AMS) member with several teams of experts partnering with multiple NOAA organizations across the country.

Friends of NOAA (FoNOAA) was present at the recent American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting, held January 29-February 1, 2024 in Baltimore, MD.  FoNOAA member organizations showcased their work and ties to the meteorological community, including intersections and arcs with NOAA.  In the Exhibit Hall, there were FoNOAA table top cards at several booths.  A big “thanks” to member institutions for promoting FoNOAA at AMS.  These interactions at AMS and other FoNOAA events are all part of FoNOAA leadership’s effort to broaden ties between FoNOAA and NOAA at all levels — which we believe will foster greater understanding of NOAA’s mission, and outline areas where FoNOAA can have meaningful impact. 

NOAA has released information about the 2023 Arctic Report Card that can be found at:

Report Card 2023 – NOAA Arctic.

ARCTIC ESSAYS

More frequent extreme weather and climate events are transforming the Arctic, yet resiliency and opportunity lie within diverse partnerships

The Arctic is increasingly warmer, less frozen, and wetter, with regional extremes in weather, climate patterns, and ecosystem responses. Centering locally and internationally-focused partnerships, long-term observations, and equitable climate solutions provides Arctic communities and nations as well as society-at-large with information and mechanisms to cope with a rapidly changing Arctic.

In the air

• Average surface air temperatures for the Arctic in the past year were the sixth warmest since 1900.
• Summer surface air temperatures were the warmest on record.
• Summer high-pressure systems brought warm temperatures, widespread melting, and exceptional rainfall volumes across the Greenland Ice Sheet.

In the ocean

• Sea ice extent continues to decline, with the last 17 September extents (2007-23) as the lowest on record. Sea ice extent was 6th lowest in the satellite record, since 1979.
• August mean sea surface temperatures show continued warming trends for 1982-2023 in almost all Arctic Ocean regions that are ice-free in August. Mean sea surface temperature over regions between 65° N and 80° N is increasing at a rate of ~0.9°F (~0.5°C) per decade.
• Arctic regions, except for the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, and Canadian Archipelago, continue to show increased ocean phytoplankton blooms, or ocean primary productivity, with the largest percent change in the Eurasian Arctic and Barents Sea.
• Since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, rising sea levels have inundated terrestrial permafrost surrounding the Arctic Ocean, resulting in nearly 1 million square miles (~2.5 million square km) of subsea permafrost that is at risk of thawing. International research collaboration is needed to address critical questions regarding the extent and current state of subsea permafrost and to estimate the potential release of greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide and methane) as it thaws.

On the land

• North American snow cover extent set a record low in May 2023, while snow accumulation during the 2022/23 winter was above average across both North America and Eurasia.
• Heavy precipitation events broke existing records at various locations across the Arctic and the Pan-Arctic precipitation for 2022-23 was the sixth highest on record.
• On 26 June 2023, Summit Station, Greenland reached 32.7°F (0.4°C) and experienced melt for only the fifth time in its 34-year observational history.
• The Greenland Ice Sheet lost roughly 350 trillion pounds (156 ± 22 Gt) of mass from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023 because discharge and melting exceeded accumulation.
• The 2023 circumpolar average peak tundra greenness, which is the overall vegetation, including plants, shrubs, and trees taking over grassland and tundra, as measured by satellite, was the third highest in the 24-year record.
• In Finland, peatland restoration and rewilding demonstrate a globally relevant climate solution of carbon sinks and point to a need for replication across impacted sites. Rewilding requires partnership, recognition of Indigenous and community rights, and the use of Indigenous knowledge alongside science to succeed and avoid replication of past inequities.

Nunaaqqit Savaqatigivlugich: Working with communities to observe the Arctic

• The Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub (AAOKH) works with a network of coastal Indigenous observers to document long-term and holistic observations of environmental change and impacts in northern Alaska.
• Recently, Indigenous observers have noted sea ice loss, warmer air and ocean temperatures, changing wind patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of coastal storms that contribute to flooding and erosion.
• Indigenous observers also document local-scale impacts of environmental changes to community and cultural infrastructure, traditional harvests and activities, and travel safety across the land and sea.
• Applying and centering Indigenous perspectives and observations of Arctic change in decision-making can lead to more inclusive, equitable, and community-led responses.

Divergent responses of western Alaska salmon to a changing climate

• Western Alaska salmon abundance reached historic extremes during 2021-22, with record lows for Chinook and chum salmon (81% and 92% below the 30-year mean, respectively) and record highs for sockeye salmon (98% above the 30-year mean).
• Salmon are maturing at smaller sizes. Since the 1970s, Yukon River Chinook salmon have decreased an estimated 6% in mean adult body length and 15% in fecundity, or ability to produce offspring, likely exacerbating population declines.
• Salmon population declines have led to fishery closures, worsened user conflicts, and had profound cultural and food security impacts in Indigenous communities that have been tied to salmon for millennia.
• Changes in salmon abundance and size are associated with climatic changes in freshwater and marine ecosystems and competition in the ocean. Changes in predators, food supply, and disease are also likely important drivers.

A recording of NOAA’s stakeholder briefing on the 2023 Arctic Report Card can be found at:

Arctic Report Card Stakeholder Briefing

From the NOAA Office of Organizational Excellence

Dear NWS Partners – 

Your collaboration is critical to our mission, and we want to keep you updated with the latest happenings at NOAA and the National Weather Service! Here are some recent noteworthy items we wanted to share:  

1. Transformation Roadmap for 2023 

Released earlier this year, the NWS Strategic Plan set the direction for becoming a more nimble, flexible, and mobile National Weather Service by 2033. On October 26th, NWS launched its Transformation Roadmap, outlining our path to achieving these strategic goals. 

Click to read the Transformation Roadmap

2. AI Language Translation Project

For the past 30 years, NOAA’s NWS has provided manual translations of weather forecasts and warnings into Spanish. Now, the agency has a new tool to provide more accurate, efficient, and equitable service.  

Through a series of pilot projects over the past few years, NWS forecasters have been training artificial intelligence (AI) software for weather, water, and climate terminology in Spanish and Simplified Chinese. This effort was supported by the House Appropriations Committee in NOAA’s fiscal year 2023 Congressional budget.

Click to read more about the AI Language Translation Project

3. Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5)

In case you missed it, the recording of NOAA’s National Climate Assessment Stakeholder Briefing is now available. This congressionally mandated, quadrennial report brings together hundreds of experts from federal, state, and local governments, as well as academic, non-profit, and private sectors. The report is a roadmap to a better future through science-based information, data, and real-world examples of ways to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and develop resilience strategies. 

Click here to view the full assessment. 

4. New Orleans Radar Relocation

The WSR-88D Radar located in Slidell, LA will be relocated to Hammond Airport by early 2024. 

The KLIX WSR-88D Radar move to Hammond, Louisiana will provide a drastic improvement in radar scanning strategies for areas of southeastern Louisiana that currently have poorer radar coverage.

Click here to read more about the WSR-88D radar relocation

5. RFI to Inform National Plan for Civil Earth Observations

A request for information (RFI) posted on the Federal Register last week. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests public input and seeks information from stakeholders to inform the development of the congressionally mandated National Plan for Civil Earth Observations.

Click here to view the RFI and provide comments on the first draft of the 2023 National Plan.

6. Winter Campaign

The NWS Winter Safety Campaign officially launches today! Developed by the NWS Communications Division, the campaign consists of social media graphics, videos, and more to help build a Weather-Ready Nation. 

We encourage all NWS partners to use and share this content as appropriate. Most of the campaign content can be found on the Winter Safety website. This public-facing website and its materials can be shared with anyone interested in messaging weather safety.

Click here to find all Winter Safety content so that you can spread the word!

7. See you in January!

Stay tuned for a Save the Date message for the NWS Partner Engagement Event at the 104th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD!

Thank you for your partnerships and have a great weekend!

Cindy Elsenheimer
Partnership Engagement Lead, NWS Office of Organizational Excellence

A recording of NOAA’s National Climate Assessment Stakeholder Briefing is now available.

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad, Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick, and Senior Advisor for Climate Ko Barrett, along with six authors discuss key takeaways from their chapters, including the newly added chapters of economics and social science and justice. 

You can find out more about the assessment with the following resources: 

• NOAA’s National Climate Assessment Stakeholder Briefing
• Fifth National Climate Assessment
• Interactive Atlas 

From NOAA Communications:

Funding supports NOAA’s efforts to upgrade the National Water Model and expand Flood Inundation Mapping services

September 27, 2023

Earlier this month, the Department of Commerce and NOAA’s Office of Water Prediction awarded the Next Generation Water Prediction Capability contract to Raytheon, an RTX Business. The $80 million, four-year contract will transform water prediction by enabling rapid deployment of advanced water models to provide coupled, continental scale, operational coastal and inland flood forecasting and inundation mapping services. 

“Floods can have devastating impacts across the country, harming local economies, damaging infrastructure, and putting lives at risk,” said U.S. Secretary Gina Raimondo. ”This investment, made possible by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda — a key pillar of Bidenomics — will give first responders, emergency managers and the public better, fast information about where, when and how our communities will be affected by flooding.”

The contract is for the development of two capabilities:

• A new Water Resources Modeling framework supporting future versions of the National Water Model with state-of-the-science hydrologic and hydraulic model formulations, and
• Near real-time, high spatial resolution flood inundation maps and services for nearly 100% of the U.S. population leveraging both forecasts from National Weather Service River Forecast Centers and operational guidance from the National Water Model.

The contract also requires Raytheon to deliver an integrated, high-resolution hydrographic, topographic and bathymetric geospatial dataset underpinning both the National Water Model and Flood Inundation Mapping service capabilities, and a cloud-hosted Optimization and Evaluation Environment to configure the new National Water Model and Flood Inundation Mapping services. 

These new capabilities will create a pathway to operationalize the new models and techniques developed by the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrologyoffsite link, and ultimately will enable broader community engagement as envisioned in NOAA’s Weather, Water and Climate Strategy. In addition to running models that predict streamflow, floods and inundation, the new Water Resources Modeling framework also will provide an avenue to deploy improved models of drought, soil moisture and water quality into operations.

“NOAA’s National Weather Service is taking flood forecasting to the next level,” said Dr. Michael Morgan, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction. “This project is expected to enhance our ability to identify and communicate potential flooding and pass that life-saving information on to emergency managers, decision makers and the public.”

The agency also awarded $7.4 million, of which $1.7 million is Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, to GAMA-1 Technologies to develop the Hydrologic Visualization and Information Services system in the cloud to serve as the platform for dissemination of high-resolution flood prediction services to the nation. Please visit the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law website to learn about other current and future funding opportunities.

Media contact

Maureen O’Leary, NOAA Communications, Maureen.Oleary@noaa.gov, (202) 578-5257