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<br /> <br />Recommendation: NWS should site gages to assure survival and arrange for <br />back-up observations for operational gages wherever possible. Special <br />emphasis needs to be placed on frequently exercising of interrogation <br />features to obtain special reports. Consideration should be given to <br />modifying AHOS/S gages to report on an event basis to automatically alert <br />NWS personnel to heavy rainfall or rapidly rising streams. <br /> <br />Finding 6: A picture gridding accuracy requirement of 20 miles was estab- <br />lished by the NWS and NESS before the launch of the first of the operational <br />geostationary satellites. The gridding errors on 31 July - 1 August were <br />within this limit. This accuracy may not be adequate; gridding errors of <br />this magnitude make it difficult, if not impossible, to use the pictures <br />alone for precise location and movement of small scale storms. <br /> <br />Recommendation: NWS should review gridding requirements and establish new <br />standards if appropriate. NESS should develop the technological and opera- <br />tional improvements to meet any new requirement. In addition, particularly <br />until gridding accuracy improvements are made, NESS should examine the <br />feasibility of routinely distributing gridding error information to WSFOs <br />for more precise location of features in the pictures. <br /> <br />Finding 7: The heavy workload of the two meteorologists at the Kansas City <br />SFSS during the late afternoon and early evening of July 31 may have been <br />a contributing factor in their not detecting the significance of the <br />localized activity in Colorado. <br /> <br />Recommendation: NESS should review the manning level and duties of the <br />Kansas City SFSS, expecially in view of the recently added Gulf of Mexico <br />responsibilities. <br /> <br />26 <br />