The Ultimate NWS Guidebook

[Southland Wx]

So a lot of newbies, etc. who might not understand how everything in wx works (you'll see a lot of people throw down acronyms, etc.)...the NWS has finally put together the ultimate guidebook: http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/

I think anyone, from a newbie up to a seasoned met would find this useful. I saw this and my immediate reaction was: "I wish this existed when I was first starting out." Really a good thing to have to reference, even if you've been experienced...covers acronyms, organization, products, severe wx, storm reports, etc. For those that like to bookmark, I think this is a good link to have near the top.

[strongwxnc]

Great post..

Thanks!!

[jshetley]

Thanks. This is very useful info.

[Dale]

Southland WX......

Agreed!!! I have the pdf shortcut on my desktop!!

Thanx!

[DaculaWeather]

Added to my website! Thanks!

[isohume]

Great, I always felt like a cog in an uncaring machine. Now I know I am. lol

Cool find! It should be required reading for new NWS employees.

 

[NYWx]

Great, I always felt like a cog in an uncaring machine. Now I know I am. lol

Cool find! It should be required reading for new NWS employees.

Are you kidding? We have all this stuff memorized!

[isohume]

Are you kidding? We have all this stuff memorized!

Lol...you better! There should be a test after the first week. 

[BayBreeze]

Great, I always felt like a cog in an uncaring machine. Now I know I am. lol

Cool find! It should be required reading for new NWS employees.

it is handy for anyone. even though i am out of the agency now, i feel led to say this is personal opinion...

the weather service seems to be in a "change for the sake of change" mode at times. it is frustrating for employees, the public and the em community. stop, and just focus on your reason for being. take small steps one at a time to improve. make sure it IS an improvement and not just something trumped up to make you look busy at your desk. that is directed toward no one. if i had my day, everyone from management to interns who act like they know everything to the union would get some kind advice. a site such as the above could help keep it all in one place, provided they have the resources to keep it fresh.

[isohume]

it is handy for anyone.  even though i am out of the agency now, i feel led to say this is personal opinion...

the weather service seems to be in a "change for the sake of change" mode at times.  it is frustrating for employees, the public and the em community.  stop, and just focus on your reason for being.  take small steps one at a time to improve.  make sure it IS an improvement and not just something trumped up to make you look busy at your desk.  that is directed toward no one.  if i had my day, everyone from management to interns who act like they know everything to the union would get some kind advice.  a site such as the above could help keep it all in one place, provided they have the resources to keep it fresh.

Good post Rich and I agree. Seems the NWS is so busy pleasing everyone else, they forget about their own.  

[millpondwx]

Thanks for the link. Nice find. And thanks to the NWS for pulling this together.

[New England Storm]

Thanks for link that is awsome.

[WxChick]

I think even the most seasoned mets will find things in this guidebook that they didnt know...or weren't very familiar with. Whether it be some of the "specialty centers" or information on the non-routine services offered by the NWS, theres always something to learn.

[LakeEffectKing]

So a lot of newbies, etc. who might not understand how everything in wx works (you'll see a lot of people throw down acronyms, etc.)...the NWS has finally put together the ultimate guidebook: http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/

I think anyone, from a newbie up to a seasoned met would find this useful. I saw this and my immediate reaction was: "I wish this existed when I was first starting out." Really a good thing to have to reference, even if you've been experienced...covers acronyms, organization, products, severe wx, storm reports, etc. For those that like to bookmark, I think this is a good link to have near the top.

This is great Matt! And timely also, as I have a presentation to make up at SU for our Emergency Management Committee semi annual meetings regarding hazardous weather. There are more than a few resources at that site that will be tremendously useful!!

Thanks much for posting it!

[das]

So a lot of newbies, etc. who might not understand how everything in wx works (you'll see a lot of people throw down acronyms, etc.)...the NWS has finally put together the ultimate guidebook: http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/

I think anyone, from a newbie up to a seasoned met would find this useful. I saw this and my immediate reaction was: "I wish this existed when I was first starting out." Really a good thing to have to reference, even if you've been experienced...covers acronyms, organization, products, severe wx, storm reports, etc. For those that like to bookmark, I think this is a good link to have near the top.

Great resource, thanks Southland.

An appendix for research and experimental products funded by NOAA or their partners like the Earth System Research Lab (Link to ESRL) or Applied Climate InfoSys (Links to ACIS: 1, 2) buried down in the Catalog of Products and Services at HPRCC would probably be a good idea. This would help facilitate a great pool of NWS beta testers and help enable early adoption of new and emerging technologies. There are so many of these resources published internally and externally and the logistics of finding (or stumbling across) them is arduous and random at the start of a career.

[ThePhotoGuy]

Thanks!

[WxChick]

Great, I always felt like a cog in an uncaring machine. Now I know I am. lol

Curious what you meant by this.

/shamless bump to bring the thread back up

[isohume]

Curious what you meant by this.

/shamless bump to bring the thread back up

I guess I meant after seeing the NWS structure all laid out, I actually do feel like a cog in an uncaring machine. I was partly kidding really, but you know...the man vs. machine type thing? 

However, I will say the buck does stop at the WFO, especially with the forecasters. They are the ones "at the end" of the organizational chart and there is no upward vector. It all (policies, directives, expectations, responsibilities, etc) points toward the forecaster all the time. It's an "uncaring" setup from the reference point of the forecaster, imo. 

I relate it to a military structure, which the NWS is patterned from and developed from after all. The HQ is in DC, the Divisions are the different regions...the Battalions and Companies are the national centers and WFO's respectively. The forecaster, therefore, is the soldier on the front line. Alone...uncared for by the great machine. lol    

[WxChick]

I guess I meant after seeing the NWS structure all laid out, I actually do feel like a cog in an uncaring machine. I was partly kidding really, but you know...the man vs. machine type thing?

However, I will say the buck does stop at the WFO, especially with the forecasters. They are the ones "at the end" of the organizational chart and there is no upward vector. It all (policies, directives, expectations, responsibilities, etc) points toward the forecaster all the time. It's an "uncaring" setup from the reference point of the forecaster, imo.

I relate it to a military structure, which the NWS is patterned from and developed from after all. The HQ is in DC, the Divisions are the different regions...the Battalions and Companies are the national centers and WFO's respectively. The forecaster, therefore, is the soldier on the front line. Alone...uncared for by the great machine. lol

Interesting perspective.

I guess I dont really feel that way. In (most) every company there are levels of employees. And in many of those, the people on the lowest level do a lot of the work. The higher level employees maybe have less of the work that's visible to the users, but the do plenty of stuff both outward from the company an inward supporting everyone above and below them.

Do you work at a WFO? I guess I dont really understand your animosity.

[isohume]

Interesting perspective.

I guess I dont really feel that way. In (most) every company there are levels of employees. And in many of those, the people on the lowest level do a lot of the work. The higher level employees maybe have less of the work that's visible to the users, but the do plenty of stuff both outward from the company an inward supporting everyone above and below them.

Do you work at a WFO? I guess I dont really understand your animosity.

Yeah I work at GSP. I don't have any animosity about all this. It's just something I've noticed and like I said it was partly tongue in cheek. I really do see similarites between the NWS and the military tho. In structure, content, and managment style. That's very apparent to me. But none of this affects how I perform my job nor gives me an attitude.

[RU848789]

So a lot of newbies, etc. who might not understand how everything in wx works (you'll see a lot of people throw down acronyms, etc.)...the NWS has finally put together the ultimate guidebook: http://www.weather.gov/om/guide/

I think anyone, from a newbie up to a seasoned met would find this useful. I saw this and my immediate reaction was: "I wish this existed when I was first starting out." Really a good thing to have to reference, even if you've been experienced...covers acronyms, organization, products, severe wx, storm reports, etc. For those that like to bookmark, I think this is a good link to have near the top.

Great resource, thanks...

[logger31]

Its a great guide to have now hopefully many of the friends i have will know how the weather service works.