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<br />\ <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />i I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I I <br /> <br />WKWMP operational activities divide into four major categories: <br /> <br />A. Weather forecasting/operational planning/data collection <br /> <br />B. Weather surveillance - radar, satellite, TV and visual <br /> <br />C. Aircraft seeding operations and maintenance <br /> <br />D. Administrative and public relations <br /> <br />A. WEATHER FORECASTING/OPERATIONAL PLANNlNG <br /> <br />Both the Lakin and Colby meteorologists prepare daily weather forecasts concentrating each <br />one's area of primary responsibility as well as for the larger region including the WKWMP target area. <br />Most weather data used by the WMWMP originates through National Weather Service or National <br />Center for Atmospheric Research channels and has been processed before it is disseminated to the <br />public over the Internet by various government, private and university groups. <br /> <br />With respect to the various media distribution of weather products: The Weather Channel <br />(TWC) generally does an excellent job of providing 24-hour-a-day non-stop television weather updates <br />when viewed on local TV cable as it includes frequent regional radar and satellite data. TWC is <br />monitored by WKWMP personnel at home and in other places, but not at their field offices. This is <br />due to the lack of local cable lines running to them. What is monitored more often at the field <br />headquarters in Lakin is a service begun in 1994 provided by Data Transmission Network (DIN). <br /> <br />\ <br />DTN now provides information about a wide variety of subjects. For us, its data stream is <br />entirely weather and agriculture related. We receive weather data on a continuous-feed by satellite. <br />Among the weather data provided are hourly satellite imagery, IS-minute delayed regional, national <br />radar composites, short and long range weather forecast maps, text weather statements, severe <br />weather warning advisories from the National Weather Service, general regions showing near-term <br />expected severe storm activity, jet stream cores, precipitation estimates, current regional surface <br />windspeeds and directions, humidities, crop moisture and drought severity conditions. DIN offers <br />a variety of time-delayed radar composites which allows the user to interact with how data will be <br />displayed. For example, a desired area of interest can be enlarged for better viewing the composite <br />radar echoes, then made into a short movie' loop to show movements during the past few hours. <br />Similarly, satellite data can be looped and zoomed as desired although the resolution of the satellite <br />imagery is not as good as it is from other sources. Both WKWMP radar sites had DIN service <br />available to them in 1998. <br /> <br />In addition to its many readily available weather products and the long-term radar maintenance <br />savings it undoubtedly provides to us, DIN can be particularly useful during severe weather periods, <br />especially when we experience our own being radar attenuated due to large storms around the region <br />and watching for storms well beyond our normal operating range. One weakness of the DIN system <br /> <br />13 <br />