§8545 Warning Coordination Meteorologists at Weather Forecast Offices of National Weather Service

Summary

The Director of the National Weather Service must assign at least one warning coordination meteorologist to every weather forecast office. This does not allow hiring more staff or change the official number of employees. Other employees can also do the warning coordination work, but the warning coordination meteorologist’s main job is to carry out the duties below. That meteorologist must help people in the office’s area use weather products to respond better to storms and other events. They must work with the public, media, pilots, sailors, farmers, foresters, and water managers to check that forecasts and warnings are useful. They should team up with other forecast offices and state, local, and tribal agencies to create or change products. They must keep severe-weather contact lists and procedures up to date and coordinate with emergency managers for better preparedness and response. The Director can give these tasks to other staff and may place a meteorologist with a state or local emergency manager; if placed near an office, that counts as being assigned to that office.