Marine Prediction Center
Report to Stakeholders --1999 Accomplishments
1. Introduction
The year 1999 was very busy for the MPC. The most significant change within the Center
was the retirement of the Intergraph system and implementation of graphical
production of charts using electronic workstations. PC staff embraced the new technology and significant gains in
efficiency were realized such that improvements in existing products were
implemented without additional staffing.
Also, the Center widened its scope of responsibility by taking over the
North Pacific and North Atlantic hemispheric surface analysis from the
Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.
Significant investments in
outreach to users and educational institutions were also made. Although fully staffed from March to
December the Center invested approximately 665 hours of overtime and
compensatory time in support of outreach activities during this 10-month period. Outreach activities included marine
safety-at-sea workshops, seminars, boat shows, and formal presentations at
various educational institutions such as the Maritime Institute of Technology
and Graduate Studies (MITAGS), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, New York Maritime
College, Maine Maritime, U.S. Naval Academy, Sea Education Association, and
American Sail Training Association.
2. Major Accomplishments
The following is a chronological
list of MPC’s major accomplishments for the year 1999 above and beyond the
daily issuance of high-quality marine products seven days a week, twenty-four
hours a day.
. Backup
Plan for TPC Tested - MPC serves as the backup to the Tropical
Prediction Center’s (TPC’s) offshore marine program. On March 28, MPC successfully exercised the backup plan. The exercise was especially useful in
providing MPC forecasters experience in coordinating with the Miami and New
Orleans forecast offices, which have coastal zone responsibilities adjacent to
TPC’s offshore zones.
. Retirement
of Legacy Intergraph System - MPC completed its migration from paper
and pen-based production of graphical products to the new workstation-based
N-AWIPS software on March 31. The daily
production of 58 graphical products is now entirely on N-AWIPS workstations.
. Surface
Analyses Transferred - The North Pacific and North Atlantic hemispheric
surface analyses were transferred from the HPC to the MPC on April 30. Enhanced software display techniques using state-of-the-art
computer-generated presentations of plotted observations, satellite cloud
cover, and numerical model forecasts were developed through a partnership
involving NCO, MPC, and HPC staff.
. UCAR
Advisory Panel Review Completed - Review of the MPC by a panel convened
by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research was completed July
14-15. Professor Russell Elsberry of
the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, led the Review Team. The review reaffirmed the value of the MPC
to the international maritime community and made a number of suggestions for
enhancing MPC’s products and services.
. Backup
Plan for MPC Tested - As the counterpart to the backup test of March
28, TPC successfully tested its backup plan for the MPC on August 24. There were a few communications glitches in
the product headers that were fixed immediately. Periodic tests like this are essential to guaranteeing the
delivery of MPC and TPC products and services during emergency situations.
. EgyptAir
990 Recovery Task Force Support - At the request of NTSB Chairman James
Hall, specialized marine support for the EgyptAir 990 Recovery Task Force
located in Newport, RI, was provided
November 2-19. Throughout the
primary recovery efforts either MPC Director Jim Hoke or MPC Director of
Operations Chief Dave Feit was on-site at the Command Center. They provided on-scene, customized weather
forecasts and graphics for the search area to the NTSB, Coast Guard, Navy,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public Health Service, and ships of the
recovery effort, including NOAA's WHITING. A team of marine weather specialists working around the clock at
MPC in Camp Springs, MD, and the Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography
Center, Norfolk, VA, provided the forecasts and other information crucial to
the success of these on-site meteorologists.
Marine forecasts of wind speed and wave height are of extreme importance
during search and recovery efforts.
NTSB Chairman Hall was very appreciative and impressed with the weather
support the Recovery Task Force had been receiving and said, "You weather
people have done an incredible job. We
couldn't have done it without you."
Hoke and Feit participated in the NOAA debrief session in Silver Spring
for the EgyptAir 990 Recovery Task Force on November 30. The meeting was led by Captain Richard
Permenter of the National Ocean Service’s (NOS’) Office of Response and
Recovery. The twenty people in
attendance represented all NOAA components involved with the Recovery Task
Force, including the NOAA Corps, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
Public Affairs, NOS, and NWS. The group
discussed the NOAA team's actions and approaches that were successful and
determined steps to make future responses even more effective. It was recommended MPC be the initial NWS
point of contact for future maritime emergencies.
Radiofacsimile Product Suite Improved - MPC implemented a number of improvements
to its suite of products broadcast on HF radio facsimile and placed on the
Internet on November 17. A major change
was the addition of a 48-hour Peak Wave Period/Direction chart for each
ocean. Other changes included emphasis
of the prediction of warnings and the depiction of ice edges.
. NAVTEX
Offshore Text Products Begun - A new suite of offshore text products in
support of NAVTEX to meet the US obligations under the Global Maritime Distress
and Safety System was begun on November 30.
NAVTEX is a coordinated product of the MPC and coastal NWS weather
forecast offices and covers the waters from two miles out to 200 mi from both
east and west US coasts. These products
are now routinely issued along with the
regular offshore forecasts four times daily.
. Year
2000 - The year concluded with an uneventful Y2K rollover at
meteorological New Years, which occurred at 7 p.m. EST December 31, 1999.
3. Awards in 1999
Sienkiewicz receives Cline Awards - Senior Marine Forecaster Joseph Sienkiewicz was selected as the
winner of the MPC Isaac Cline Award for 1999.
Joe was recognized for his outstanding forecast skill and initiative in
getting the word out for a very serious storm threatening the Pacific Northwest
and adjacent waters on March 1-3, 1999.
Joe’s efforts ensured the public and the weather forecast offices along
the west coast of the U.S. and Canada were well aware of this life-threatening
storm. As an indication of the
significance of Joe’s contributions he was subsequently selected as the Isaac
Cline Award winner for all of NCEP.
Partain awarded the Bronze Medal - Science and Operations Officer James Partain was awarded the
Department of Commerce Bronze Medal by DoC Deputy Undersecretary Scott Gudes at
ceremonies held December 14, 1999, at the University of Maryland Conference
Center. The Bronze Medal is the third
highest award of the Department. James
was recognized for “outstanding leadership in planning, organizing, directing,
and implementing MPC modernization activities.” The great strides MPC has made in recent years to improve the
quality of products and services for its many customers would not have been
possible without James’ extensive and innovative efforts.
4. Staff
as of December 31, 1999
Administration
James E. Hoke, Director
Marshall P. Waters, III, Deputy Director
Angela K. Wright, Secretary
Marine
Forecast Branch
David M. Feit, Branch Chief
Senior Marine Forecasters: Robert W. Kelly, Edward R. Schoenberg, Douglas H. Scovil, Joseph M. Sienkiewicz, Paul R. Vukits
Forecasters: George P. Bancroft, Jeffrey K. Bowman, Lee S. Chesneau, David L. Chorney, Joe B. Cope, Joseph L. Czarniecki, Allen W. Fritz, Jr., Curt J. Janota, Hugh G. McRandal, James D. Nolt, Robert J. Oszajca, Donald S. Prosise, Michael A. Rowland, Todd S. Shaw, Wayne D. Weeks
Marine
Applications Branch
Marshall P. Waters, III, Branch
Chief
James L. Partain, Jr., Science and Operations Officer
5. Personnel Changes
Vacancy filled on
March 15, 1999: Curt J. Janota,
forecaster
Promotion effective
June 22, 1999: Angela K. Wright,
secretary
6. Images of the MPC
The MPC operations
area with forecaster Jim Nolt (foreground) working the Pacific High Seas Desk
and forecaster Curt Janota on the Atlantic High Seas Desk. The map briefing wall is in the background.
MPC forecaster Joe Cope
using the new N-AWIPS workstation to prepare Pacific high-seas graphics
products. The replacement of the old Intergraph systems with N-AWIPS on March
31 enabled MPC to produce clearer analysis and forecast products and freed up
time for product enhancements.
MPC Director of
Operations Dave Feit at Pier 2 Naval Station Newport with the U.S. naval vessel
GRAPPLE. The ship was part of the fleet
including NOAA’s WHITING instrumental to the search, location, and recovery efforts
following the EgyptAir 990 crash. Pier
2 was the home of the Recovery Task Force for the operation. This photograph was taken when many of the
ships returned to port due to the bad weather at the recovery site as forecast
by MPC and Navy meteorologists. The
benign conditions in this photograph illustrate how different the weather
conditions could be at the recovery site only 80 miles away and how important
precise, site-specific weather forecasts were.