NOAA's National Weather Service

The Lake Breeze

Volume 3, Issue 3

Spring 2008

The Newsletter of the Buffalo Forecast Office

Thomas Niziol, Meteorologist In Charge

Judith Levan, Warning Coordination

National Weather Service Forecast Office

Meteorologist, Editor

587 Aero Drive

www.weather.gov/buf

Cheektowaga, NY 14225

Severe Weather Awareness Week--April 27-May 3, 2008

The week of April 27th through May

emergency  management  offices,

National

Warning

System

3rd has been proclaimed Severe

media, and schools, and through

(NAWAS), and the New York State

Weather Awareness Week in New

our website.

Police

Information

Network

York State. The National Weather

(NYSPIN). NAWAS and NYSPIN

Service (NWS) in partnership with

In addition to information about se-

are New York's official emergency

the New York State Emergency

vere weather, the NWS in partner-

management communication sys-

Management Office, other State

ship with the New York State Emer-

tems for State agencies and local

Agencies, local agencies, volunteer

gency Management Office and the

officials. Also, volunteer broadcast-

and private sector organizations

New York State Broadcasters Asso-

ers will use this opportunity to test

urges all New Yorkers to learn how

ciation will conduct the 20th annual

the  Emergency  Alert  System

to protect themselves from the haz-

Severe Weather Awareness Week

(EAS).

ards of flooding, tornadoes and se-

Drills. Communications capabilities

vere thunderstorms. The NWS will

for warning dissemination will be

Throughout this issue of The Lake

be providing information about west-

tested across the Empire State.

Breeze, you will find valuable infor-

ern and north-central New York

These capabilities include NOAA's

mation on how to keep yourself

weather hazards and weather safety

All-Hazards Weather Radio, NOAA

and your family protected during

throughout the week through Public

Weather Wire Service, the emer-

the upcoming severe weather sea-

Information Statements, outreach to

gency  management  community's

son.

I

New Tool Available to NWS Forecasters

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

This year, all NWS offices will begin

Radar Tool (continued)

2

using a new tool to view storms on

radar. The new software is called

FSI, or the Four Dimensional Storm

Thunderstorm and Lightning

Investigator.

3

Safety

Prior to the installation and use of

our current radar system, the WSR-

NWS Open House

4

88D in 1995, we had full control

over the radar. This means that we

could pan and tilt the radar over a

Warmer Oceans and Atlan-

5

single storm in order to visualize its

tic Hurricane Landfalls

structure. However, this was done

at the expense of possibly ignoring

Flash Flood and Tornado

5

other developing storms. With the

Safety

WSR-88D, we have several differ-

ent scanning modes which us to

SKYWARN

6

(Continued on page 2)