1. Volunteer Observing Ships (VOS) Port Meteorological Officers (PMO) Workshop
John D. Murphy
Director, Office of Science & Technology (U.S. National Weather Service)
Acting Observation Portfolio Lead
Aug 25, 2014

2. Outline NWS PPA and Hq Restructure Proposed Observation Portfolio
Portfolio Introduction
FY15 Thrust Areas
Baseline Investments
FY15 Milestones
VOS Normalization

3. Restructured NWS Programs, Projects, Activities (PPAs)
Existing Programs
PPAs
Surface, Ocean & Upper Air Observations, Aircraft Obs, Radiosondes, NEXRAD, ASOS, Buoys, Snow Surveys, Profilers, National Mesonet, Observations Support
Observations
Data Collection/Display, AWIPS, Model Implementations,
Supercomputing, Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System
Central
Processing
Forecast Process
Analyze, Forecast, Support
WFO Forecasts & Warnings, National Service Centers, River Forecast Centers, CWSUs, Tsunami Services, Decision Support Services, WCM/SCH Program
We are also relying on the key part that social science can do to make our services as effective as possible. We are working to ensure that the message we deliver is the message that is received and that the message results in action that protects life and property.
Social media plays an important part in our communication. A good example of how social media can help communicate occurred during a tornado outbreak last month in the Midwestern United States. People spread the news by cellphone and text message, warning large numbers of people who were in church on Sunday morning. There were, unfortunately, six fatalities, but we compare this with a similar outbreak on Palm Sunday in 1965, before messaging could occur, when we lost 267 people.
Budget uncertainty is greatest challenge for NWS. We have concentrated on creating a budget structure that follows the forecasting process.
IT & Dissemination Systems; Telecommunications Gateway, NOAA Weather Radio; NEXTGEN, Ground Readiness, NOMADS
Dissemination
Science & Technology Integration
Research/Development/Assess, Environmental Modeling Center, Test and Demonstration, WRN Pilots, Testbeds, Training, CSTAR, Education & Outreach, SOO/DOH Program

4. Proposed HQ Organization Structure
HQ Office
Field Office
Pre-Decisional & Administratively Confidential

5. High Level Organization Chart of NWS Observation Office
Note: Below is the proposed office structure reviewed/approved by NWS AA/DAA on 6/5/2014
Divisions: Composed of 3 Divisions under an Observations Office: Maritime (NDBC), Radar (ROC), & SFC/UA
Branches: NDBC and ROC branch structure left as is due to interagency/cross-agency coordination that would be required of any changes. In addition, they were told organizational changes would be limited to Silver Spring campus. Therefore, any changes should only occur following the new organizational stand up and only after proper functional/workload analyses. SFC/UA branches are proposed IAW major functions to be performed
Observations Office
Portfolio Responsibilities include (not limited): Portfolio Planning, Budget Execution Input, Schedule, Risk Management, Engineering Support, Program Management Support, Acquisition Support
Portfolio Management Staff
Alternative 2 is based upon further analysis and feedback from John Murphy as Observation Portfolio lead
ROC
NDBC
SFC/UA
Radar systems
Maritime systems
Surface/Upper Air Systems 5
Pre-Decisional & Administratively Confidential

6. OBS Portfolio Introduction
Includes NWS systems (and ‘data buys’) that provide observations from radar, upper air, surface and marine environments used to support NWS’ mission of providing weather, water, and climate data forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property; and for the enhancement of the National economy
Funding supports O&M of existing systems as well as development and implementation (PAC) of new observational capabilities required to meet the NOAA strategic plan goals for a Weather-Ready Nation
Funding for these systems provide up-to-date and accurate information to the Nation through support of the 122 WFOs, 13 RFCs, and 10 national Centers. It improves the resiliency of the American public and the US economy and reduces the potential of societal and economic impacts due to high impact weather events
FY 2015 President’s Budget Estimate
Funding ($ ,000)
FTE
*$213,591
804
*ORF & PAC

7. FY15 Thrust Areas “Do no harm” with PPA realignment
Improve return on investments
Normalize programs
Smart data buys
Lean logistics to achieve Ao

8. Baseline Investments Marine
Comprehensive, reliable systems and marine observations to support missions of NWS and NOAA, promote public safety, and satisfy future needs of many external customers
Operations & maintenance of buoys and coastal stations providing real-time meteorological, climatological, and tsunami data
High quality meteorological/environmental data in real time from automated observing systems including buoys in the open ocean and coastal zones surrounding the US
Engineering support, including applications development, buoy deployment & operations, and installation/operation of automated observing systems installed on fixed platforms
Assessment:
Investment
Name
($ ,000)
CWB
C-MAN
DART
TWC Sea Level
TAO
PIRATA
VOS
GLOS
Portfolio Total
FTE’s
37.6
1.9
39.5
Labor
$4,689
$274 $0
$4,963
PCS
NSP
Non-Labor
$18,811
$9,998
$1,500
$6,100
$600
$180 $5
$37,014
TOTALS
$23,500
$10,272
$42,157
Scenario 1:  $23.5M (NDBC labor, CWB/C-MAN, AK buoys & Hurricane buoys) + ~150 DAS from the USCG = ~70%
Scenario 2:  $26.0M (NDBC labor, CWB/C-MAN, AK buoys & Hurricane buoys) + ~150 DAS from the USCG + $2.0M for supplemental ship time = 80%
Pre-Decisional & Administratively Confidential

9. FY 2015 Milestones (1)
The 20 portfolio milestones are broken into 2 groups for ‘slidesmanship’ only…
There are approximately 75 portfolio milestones collected by the OBS Team (NWSH & Field reps)
Thrust Area
Milestone
$ ROM
Quarter Due
Sustain NEXRAD
Maintain at Ao of 96% or higher
$40.0M Q4
Sustain Rawinsonde
Maintain 102 sites with GPS at 2 launches / day
$22.0M
Sustain ASOS
Maintain 315 NWS/572 FAA systems at req’d sensor Ao
$10.0M
Smart data buys
Leverage NOAA GPS-MET CRADA (data buy)
$0.3M Q3
Normalize MESONET
Establish MESONET Program Office $0 Q1
Sustain Critical Wind Profilers
Maintain 3 AK sites at Ao of 96% or higher
$1.6M
Acquire 20 additional WVSS for aircraft observations
$1M (SS)
Leverage COSMIC partnership (data buy)
$0.5M Q2
Leverage NSO GONG investment (data buy)
$0.4M
Sustain DART
Maintain DART network Ao at 80%
$10.3M

10. FY 2015 Milestones (2)
The 20 portfolio milestones are broken into 2 groups for ‘slidesmanship’ only…
Thrust Area
Milestone
$ ROM
Quarter Due
Sustain Hurricane Buoy
Maintain Hurricane Buoy network Ao at 80%
$4.2M Q4
Sustain CWB
Maintain CWB network Ao at 73%
$18.5M
Sustain C-MAN
Maintain C-MAN Ao at 80%
$0.6M
Sustain TAO
Maintain TAO network Ao at 80%
$6.1M
Improve Investment Return
Deploy NEXRAD RPG/RDA Software Build 15
$50K Q2
Evaluate automated Radiosonde launch capability
$2.0M
(FY13/15) Q3
Sustain ASOS
Plan ASOS Service Life Extension Program acquisition
$1.9M
(FY13/14)
Develop wireless temperature system for COOP
$400
Normalize VOS
Establish VOS Program Office $0 Q1
Lean Logistics
Sustain 1 day turnaround for emergency requisitions and 2 day turnaround for routine requisitions 95% of time
$4.4M

11. VOS Normalization
Issue: VOS Normalization (Funding, PMOs, & Oversight)
Impacts: None expected with planned funding
Collects/Disseminates real-time maritime weather observations through recruitment and support of ships to fulfill National needs and International agreements supporting commerce, forecasts/warning programs, and safety of life at sea (SOLAS) worldwide
Defines global climate and helps measure extreme weather events, climate variability, and long-term climate changes
Operates at no cost to vessel: comm charges, equipment, and supplies from NWS
U.S. VOS provides over 6,500 observations/day which is approximately 18% of the entire VOS fleet (national/international)
Prior to VOS being transferred to NDBC from Hq (2000), it was funded at $210K/year (under resourced for years)
Mitigation of risks and issues:
Funding VOS at level sufficient to maintain existing capabilities (want to meet obligations/increase automation ~$250K/yr level)
Oversight moved to Hq to increase standardization and improve visibility
Workshop is first step in recovery
Dependencies: AOML

12. Thank You
Questions?