[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINS SMITHSONIAN AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues the accomplishment of the National Weather Service, part 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in 
receiving a Computerworld Smithsonian Award for outstanding work in new 
information technology systems. The Weather Service's Advanced Weather 
Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) recently received the award, 
which honors the use of information technology to create positive 
social and economic change. AWIPS was the only federal award winner: 
Most of the other nine categories were won by some of our nation's 
premier corporations.
  The new AWIPS system, which is now in National Weather Service field 
offices throughout the country, has already paid big dividends, most 
recently in saving lives during the devastating tornado outbreak of May 
3-4 of this year, which swept through portions of 5 states.
  AWIPS technology gives Weather Service forecasters access to 
satellite imagery, Doppler radar data, automated weather observations 
and computer-generated numerical forecasts, all in one computer 
workstation. On May 3-4, more than 70 tornadoes were pounding the U.S. 
between Texas and South Dakota, with particularly severe damage in 
Oklahoma. The AWIPS system in the Weather Service Office in Oklahoma 
City enabled forecasters to simultaneously track and issue warnings for 
dozens of tornadoes that were tracking through the area. A highly 
informed public, and good cooperation with the media and with state and 
local officials in the area, reduced greatly the numbers of deaths that 
might have occurred in this still-tragic event.
  The AWIPS system will continue to yield new and improved warning and 
forecast services to enhance safety and improve people's lives. The 
modern National Weather Service is a good investment of tax dollars and 
will be an engine of economic gain in many weather-sensitive business 
sectors. For an investment that costs each American about $4 per year, 
today's Weather Service issues more than 734,000 weather forecasts and 
850,000 river and flood forecasts, in addition to roughly 45,000 
potentially life-saving severe weather warnings annually. Statistics 
show overall improvements in forecast accuracy and in timeliness of 
severe weather and flood warnings. Skilled NOAA professionals, working 
with AWIPS and other technologies such as Doppler radar, surface 
observation systems and weather satellites, make this possible.
  Mr. Speaker, as Ranking Member of the Science Subcommittee on Energy 
and Environment, which oversees NOAA programs, I am pleased to share 
with my colleagues the news of this award celebrating one of the many 
accomplishments of the National Weather Service.

                          ____________________