More on how the government shutdown is affecting the NWS

Additional information is becoming available regarding the scope of the shutdown impacts to the public-sector weather community. None of the info in this update comes from the Memphis NWS office and none of it runs counter to the statements made in our previous post on impacts to the NWS (which I encourage you to read if you haven't), just some additional details.

According to blogs posted by the Capital Weather Gang, who I have followed for some time and who do a great job providing insight to the weather enterprise, and Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, President of the American Meteorological Society, there are numerous effects being felt at weather offices across the nation.

The primary effect, which we have confirmed from multiple sources, is that NWS employees are working for the "promise of pay." In other words, their paychecks for October are delayed until a new appropriations bill is signed or a continuing resolution is passed. In fact, NWS employees will receive a partial paycheck in the coming days for time worked through September 30, but after that they must wait until their funding is voted on to get their next paycheck. On top of working for the "promise of pay," these dedicated employees are doing things like hiking to work through snow drifts measured in feet (or not leaving the office altogether) in South Dakota in order to make sure their job duties are carried out.

NWS office in Rapid City after a mega-dumping of snow and blizzard conditions over the weekend. Image courtesy NWS-Rapid City.

In addition, public outreach has ceased, preventative maintenance has slowed or stopped (only emergency repairs are made), the main public source of historical weather and climate data is not accessible due to the shutdown of web servers at the National Climatic Data Center, and damage surveys are disallowed other than by special exception (the Wayne, NE EF-4 late last week is an example). We won't go into detail here, but Dr. Shepherd digs deeper into the possible long-term effects of the shutdown, especially if it drags on, in his blog linked above.

The typical stereotype of the government worker is not necessarily a good one.  But given the anecdotes above, and knowing many NWS meteorologists and staff personally, I dare anyone to find a more dedicated, hard-working, and under-appreciated group of public servants. Their overall budget is minuscule compared to many behemoth agencies. Yet most of them work in a field they truly love, with service to the community on the forefront of their minds. Their job is to protect life and property from elements that are beyond anyone's control and they are the best in the world at it!

References:

Unpaid Rapid City NWS staff slept at the office as blizzard totals hit 58 inches, MPR News15 ways the Federal shutdown is hampering the National Weather Service, Capital Weather Gang blog
Implications of the "Shutdown" on the Weather Community and Beyond, Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd
"No clocking out during storms – and no pay for weather forecasters," Omaha World-Herald

--Erik Proseus, Meteorologist, MemphisWeather.net

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How the government "slimdown" is affecting your local NWS office

If you have visited any of several NOAA-related websites since the partial government shutdown (or "slimdown") took effect on October 1, you probably recognize the image above.  Reports indicate that approximately half of the employees of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been furloughed, though about 6,600 remain on the job, most of those in, and in support of, more than 120 local National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices across the country. According to the article above, the NWS "is required to continue functioning because its work can identify 'imminent threats to protect life and property.'"  In fact, the shutdown of many NOAA-based websites has not affected weather forecast office sites or any other page in the weather.gov domain.

Knowing this, and given that the Memphis NWS office promptly and accurately warned of a tornadic storm on Saturday evening in northwest Tennessee, I contacted Jim Belles, Meteorologist-in-Charge at NWS-Memphis, to find out how the shutdown is affecting the local forecast offices. Belles indicated that their office remains fully staffed, providing their usual suite of products - from critical Tornado Warnings to useful daily forecasts to the more mundane, but no less important, daily climate data.

Belles iterated more than once that their mission to "protect life and property" has not been compromised and that that remains their core focus.  Asked about a few specific duties and responsibilities, he dutifully went back to the mission statement and, in a nutshell, said it is "business as usual" for job functions that are directly related to the mission.  The public should not be concerned about a lack of essential services from their local NWS office.  The one supplemental service that has had to be postponed, according to Belles, is SKYWARN storm spotter training sessions that are scheduled during the shutdown. Those classes will have to be re-scheduled when the NWS has a budget with which to operate.

I can also report that the forecast models that are run on NWS supercomputers continue to churn out terabytes of forecast data daily, Doppler radars continue to scan the skies, Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew into Tropical Storm Karen, and weather balloons are still launched twice daily around the nation, even during the shutdown. In other words, the public and private sectors are getting the necessary information to continue disseminating weather information and forecasts to the nation.

So, Mid-Southerners, rest assured that no matter how long the budget battle drags on, the NWS will continue to provide services that will keep us safe and informed, in good weather and bad.

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UPDATE #1 - Oct 10, 2013 - A source at the National Weather Service (not Belles) has confirmed that all NWS employee travel to the annual National Weather Association (NWA) meeting in Charleston, SC has been cancelled.  The NWA meeting, in particular, is a excellent time of education and renewal for the operational meteorologists and others that attend.  For many others who attend, such as broadcasters, private sector meteorologists, etc., NWS meteorologists' presentations often provide exceptional post-event research on weather events that result in better forecasts from the entire sector. I only hope that many of their presentations are able to be given via webinar so that others may still benefit.

--Erik Proseus, Meteorologist, MemphisWeather.net

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Visit MemphisWeather.net on the web or m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone.
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