NOAA’s National Weather Service is halfway through the most significant enhancement ever made to the nation’s radar network since Doppler radar was first installed in the early 1990s. The upgrade will greatly improve weather forecasts for rain, winter storms, floods and tornadoes. As of mid-August 2012, drought covered more than 60 percent of the contiguous U.S. Significant expansion finally halted during the last couple of weeks. Still, almost one-quarter of the country was experiencing extreme to exceptional drought. Updated outlook calls for near- or above-normal Atlantic season. As a young man in 1946 who helped his father farm his land in Missouri, Dr. Harry R. (Bob) Glahn never anticipated that he would one day have such an amazing career with the NWS, much less become the agency’s first Scientist Emeritus. America’s wireless industry is helping build a Weather-Ready Nation with a new text emergency alert system. As long as your cell phone is WEA-capable, you’ll get wireless alerts for the most dangerous types of weather no matter where you are. NOAA announced May 24 that conditions in the atmosphere and the ocean favor a near-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin this season. The 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew underscores the necessity to prepare every year. It’s been one year since a supercell thunderstorm produced an EF-5 tornado over Joplin, Mo. The storm resulted in 158 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries. On May 18 NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., announced Rick Knabb, Ph.D., as the next director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami. Knabb will start his duties on June 4. A truly Weather-Ready Nation requires the participation of old and young alike and everyone in between. A new online game, launching May 25, teaches players how to be prepared for real-life severe weather and natural hazards. NOAA and partners kick off multi-state study of how thunderstorms affect the upper atmosphere by exploring the role of storms in forming ozone chemicals that affect weather and climate. With hurricane season just around the corner, new emergency response specialists will provide enhanced decision and eco system support services to protect residents and visitors in the Tampa Bay area. ...... ......

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