National Winter Season Operations Plan
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH National Winter Season Operations Plan FCM-P13-2019 Lorem ipsum Lorem ipsum Washington, DC June 2019 Image of 2018 winter storm courtesy of NOAA FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH 1325 East-West Highway, SSMC2 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301-628-0112 NATIONAL WINTER SEASON OPERATIONS PLAN FCM-P13-2019 Washington, D.C. June 2019 Image of 2018 winter storm courtesy of NOAA CHANGE AND REVIEW LOG Use this page to record changes and notices of reviews. Change Page Date| Initial Number Numbers Posted 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Review Comments Initial Date iv FOREWORD The purpose of the National Winter Seasons Operations Plan (NWSOP) is to coordinate the efforts of the Federal meteorological community to provide enhanced weather observations of severe Winter Storms impacting the coastal regions of the United States. This plan focuses on the coordination of requirements for Winter Season reconnaissance observations provided by the Air Force Reserve Command's (AFRC) 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (53 WRS) and NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center (AOC). The goal is to improve the accuracy and timeliness of severe Winter Storm forecasts and warning services provided by the Nation's weather service organizations. These forecast and warning responsibilities are shared by the National Weather Service (NWS), within the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and the weather services of the United States Air Force (USAF) and the United States Navy (USN) , within the Department of Defense (DOD). Within the organizational infrastructure of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological (OFCM) services and supporting research, the Working Group for Winter Seasons Operations (WG/WSO) is responsible for maintaining the plan. This year marks the 34th edition of the National Winter Seasons Operations Plan (NWSOP). The national Winter Season mission is a team effort, and as we strive to be a “Weather-Ready Nation,” the effective coordination of the Federal agencies involved, local emergency managers, and others help, through improved forecast and warning services, to protect lives and property and reduce our Nation’s vulnerability to these high-impact events. //SIGNED// David L. Chorney, Executive Secretary Working Group for Winter Season Operations and Research v Table of Contents CHANGE AND REVIEW LOG ................................................................................................... iv FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 RESPONSIBILITIES OF COOPERATING AGENCIES ....................................... 1 1.1 General. ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Responsibilities. .................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2 AIRCRAFT RECONNAISSANCE.......................................................................... 6 2.1. General. ................................................................................................................................ 6 2.2. Responsibilities. ................................................................................................................... 6 2.3. Requirements. ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Reconnaissance Flights. ...................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Aircraft and Ground Station Communications Systems Used to Transmit Observations. 21 CHAPTER 3 OTHER OBSERVATIONS.................................................................................... 23 3.1 General. ............................................................................................................................... 23 3.2. National Data Buoy Capabilities And Requirements ........................................................ 23 3.3 Satellite Surveillance Of Winter Seasons systems.............................................................. 24 CHAPTER 4 COMMUNICATIONS ........................................................................................... 28 4.1 Department of Commerce. .................................................................................................. 28 4.2 Department of Defense (DOD). ..................................................................................... 28 4.3 U.S. Coast Guard. ........................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 5 PUBLICITY ........................................................................................................... 30 5.1 News Media Releases. ........................................................................................................ 30 5.2 Public Affairs Points of Contact. ........................................................................................ 30 APPENDIX A ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. 31 APPENDIX B DEFINITIONS ..................................................................................................... 35 APPENDIX C AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CLEARANCE LETTER ......................................... 37 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PHONE NUMBERS .................................................................... 38 APPENDIX D FORMAT FOR NHOP/NWSOP FLIGHT INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC NOTAM ISSUANCE ................................................... 39 APPENDIX E WESTERN ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO FLIGHT TRACKS .......... 41 APPENDIX F RECCO, HDOB, AND TEMP DROP CODES, TABLES, AND REGULATIONS ....................................................................................................................................................... 48 vi F.1. General. .............................................................................................................................. 48 F.2. Aerial Reconnaissance Messages. ..................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX G RECONNAISSANCE ORGANIZATIONS CONTACT INFORMATION ....... 66 APPENDIX H SUPPORTING RESEARCH ............................................................................... 68 H.1. General. ............................................................................................................................. 68 H.2. Background Studies. ......................................................................................................... 68 H.3 Concept Of Operations Details. ......................................................................................... 72 References: .................................................................................................................................... 76 List of Figures Figure 1-1 ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2-1. Sample Mission Evaluation Form .............................................................................. 9 Figure 2-2. Example of NWSOP Coordination Request .............................................................. 11 Figure 2-3. Winter Season Plan of the Day (WSPOD) Format .................................................... 16 Figure E-1. Western Atlantic Flight Track WSRP-A61 ............................................................... 42 Figure E-2. Western Atlantic Flight Track WSRP-A62 ............................................................... 43 Figure E-4. Western Atlantic Flight Track WSRP-A64 ............................................................... 44 Figure E-5. Western Atlantic Flight Track WSRP-A65 ............................................................... 45 Figure E-6. Western Atlantic Flight Track WSRP-A66 ............................................................... 46 Figure F-1. Reconnaissance Code Recording Form ..................................................................... 50 Figure F-2. Geographical Depiction of Octants Encoded in Recco Messages ............................. 54 Figure F-3. Example HDOB Message for Tropical Cyclones ...................................................... 55 Figure F-4. Example TEMP DROP Message for Winter Storms ................................................. 58 Figure F-5. Marsden Square Reference Diagram ......................................................................... 65 Figure H-1. .................................................................................................................................... 70 List of Tables Table 2-1. Sample Flight Pattern Templates................................................................................. 13 Table 2-2. Examples of Corrected Observations .......................................................................... 21 Table 3.1 Satellite and Satellite Data Availability for the Current Winter Season ......................