Posted on 07/06/2006 7:08:05 AM PDT by MikefromOhio
NOAA ISSUES SERVICE ASSESSMENT REPORT ON HURRICANE KATRINA
Evaluation Highlights Agency Successes & Recommends Improvements
July 3, 2006 — The NOAA National Weather Service released an internal evaluation of its operations during Hurricane Katrina. Service assessments are done routinely following major weather events and include input from government agencies, emergency managers, media and the public. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Hurricane Katrina taken at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2006, after making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.)
The NOAA National Hurricane Center consistently projected for more than two days in advance that Katrina would strike southeast Louisiana as a "major" hurricane and later issued hurricane watches and warnings with lead times of 44 and 32 hours, respectively—an extra eight hours beyond when such alerts are typically issued.
The accurate forecasts provided for extended warning times," said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of the NOAA National Weather Service. "Our ability to identify where a major hurricane would hit the Gulf Coast was among the actions that saved countless lives." (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Hurricane Katrina showing the NOAA National Weather Service five-day forecast (dark blue) issued Friday, August 26, 2005, and the storm’s actual track (light blue). The satellite image was taken at 11:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 28, 2005. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.)
Katrina first crossed the U.S. coast as a Category 1 hurricane near the border of Broward and Miami-Dade counties in Florida on August 25. Katrina was a Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 125 mph during its second landfall in Buras, La., on August 29, and soon thereafter made its final landfall near the border of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Service assessments are a valuable contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of NOAA National Weather Service products and services. "The Hurricane Katrina assessment highlights the best practices while recommending improvements that will allow the National Weather Service to better serve the American public in effort to protect life and property," added Johnson.
Thirteen "best practices" were identified in the Katrina assessment, among them:
Recommendations also were cited in the assessment and are currently being addressed by the NOAA National Weather Service. They include:
The full NOAA Hurricane Katrina Assessment may be found online.
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NOAA National Weather Service office in Slidell, La., which serves New Orleans, issued a statement that explicitly described the impending catastrophic damage expected from Katrina. Here is the original statement issued the day before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. This is known as an “inland hurricane warning.”
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| WWUS74 KLIX 281550 NPWLIX URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA ...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED... .HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE! |
ping
Some interesting info....
Why is it we are not hearing constant complaints and demands for more of my money from Mississippi and Alabama?
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Thanks for the mash button;)
It is sobering to re-read the 2005 forecast below.
"THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED."
What do you mean by that? This term has a particular meaning in government talk about approaches to doing the right thing to the best standard you have.
What does the EU have to do with it? They've been doing this a long time.
Certainly, but look at who was notified of the storm's impending danger and did nothing about it.
And it's only a slight tick to the left and this storm would have destroyed New Orleans with or without the levee breach....
Anything that affects the sovereignty and independence of America is of concern to me. Freedom IS life. Preserving it is the primary duty of the American citizen.
The term "Best Practices" has nothing to do with EU. It's a corporate term used to describe a series of procedures that have worked in the past and is expected to work in the future.
They have been using this term since at least the 1970s in the government. I've handled the old documents that talk about it. And they weren't the first.
Show us.
Here's one from Texas:
In 1989, the Texas Forest Service established the BMP program to focus on minimizing any threats to water quality from forestry activities. The program educates landowners, loggers and foresters about the threats to water quality and provides technical assistance on how to minimize those threats through the use of non-regulatory forestry BMPs.BMP Bluebook
The BMP program also monitors BMP implementation throughout the state. Every three years, the BMP program publishes a report, Voluntary Implementation of Forestry Best Management Practices in East Texas, which describes the level at which BMPs are being implemented. The TFS is also currently conducting a study designed to measure the overall effectiveness of BMPs in Texas.
http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/sustainable/article.aspx?id=71
Forest Service PDF document from 1996
http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/ro/policy-reports/bmp/index.shtml
There's more. This was just the first.
I'd be interested in knowing more about that. A reference please.
"TinfoilOn, apply directly to the forehead. TinfoilOn, apply directly to the forehead. TinfoilOn, apply directly to the forehead. TinfoilOn!"
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