From the Fire Weather Main Page
on the National Weather Service
The
Some
of the features on this page include...
A)
The current date with arrow keys allowing you to step back or forward to a
particular date. A calendar is also available, which will allow you to see how
many spot forecasts were issued on a certain date. You can also move ahead or
back on the calendar as well as clicking on a particular date to view spot
information from that day.
B)
A map of the NWS ALY fire weather area of responsibility. A small box will
appear indicating the location of the spot request. It is colored coded to
indicate if the spot forecast is pending (green), which means you have
submitted a spot request and the NWS is working on the forecast. A purple box
indicates the NWS has sent you a question with respect to the spot forecast. (You
will need to either click on the purple box or click on QUESTION in the
Status Box below the map, then on the bottom of the next page, yo can click on Change Request to make the necessary
changes and answer the question from the NWS. When you submit the spot again,
the monitor page will show the word ANSWERED in the Status Box and the purple
square on the map will go back to green. A red box on the map means the spot
forecast is complete and you can either click on the red box or in the
Name/Ignition Time/Status Box to see the forecast.
C)
A link at the top of the page exists to take you back to the Albany Fire
Weather Internet Page.
D)
A user will click on SUBMIT A NEW SPOT REQUEST to prepare their
information for the online spot forecast request.
Once
SUBMIT A NEW SPOT REQUEST has been selected, note that some of the spot
elements are in red, indicating these fields are required. Detailed information
on this page includes...
1
- Project Name: typically fires in the
*
select the type of project (Wildfire, WFU (wildland
fire uncontrolled), HAZMAT, Prescribed Fire, or SAR (search and rescue)). If it
is a prescribed burn, please enter in the Ignition Time (using the 24 hour
clock) and Date. The form defaults to an ignition time about ½ hour into the
future. If it is a wildfire or other selection besides Prescribed Fire, you do
not have to worry about the default ignition time.
2
- Requesting Agency: The Requesting Agency, Requesting Official, and
phone number are required. Fax number and contact person are optional, but we
consider those very important if we have any questions or if there is a
breakdown in dissemination capabilities. You will only need to enter the
information in this section the first time you request a spot forecast. After
that, it will be filled in with the same information as your last request. Please note that no other people other than the user and the
NWS will see this information!
3
- Reason For Spot Request Form: You must choose
between wildfire and non-wildfire in this section. If selecting non-wildfire,
select one of the three reasons to justify the need for a spot. For more
details on the NWS Spot Forecast Policy, you can use the link provided to
access the appropriate information from the NWS Fire Weather Directive.
4
- Location: You have a couple of options on this one, but they are
important with respect to having the location appear on the map. Proper
location data will give us detailed map information for the fire and the
terrain in the area.
*
Enter the Latitude and Longitude of the fire (you can either specify degrees
like 43.71 or degrees/minutes/seconds like 43 42 36). For supplemental
information you can reference the 7.5' USGS Quadmap,
but you still need to provide the Lat/Lon.
5
- Elevation: The top and bottom elevations of the fire are required. You
can just enter the numbers and do not need to mention the word feet. If the
burn or fire is on flat ground, you would need to enter a value in only one of
the boxes.
*
Drainage is optional and once again references the river drainage basin the
fire is in. If you know it, you can enter it.
Note that you will be flagged when submitting the request that if
possible, we would like the drainage information. If you do not know it, go
ahead and just submit the request anyway.
6
- Aspect: This field is required and important to know which side of a
mountain the fire may be on. Use direction references such as N, NE, E, SE, S,
SW, W, NW. If the fire or burn is in flat terrain, you
can type in the word FLAT.
7
- Size: Enter the acreage if known, but it is an optional field.
8
- Fuel: Please indicate the type of fuel, either using fuel model
numbers, or a description of the fuel such as grass, ponderosa pine, etc. Also,
if you can indicate the amount of fuel sheltering (Full, Partial, Unsheltered),
it helps us tremendously in providing accurate wind forecasts.
9
- Observations: Although it is considered optional in the program, it is
required to get a spot forecast from the NWS. Please enter in the information
with respect to the observation. For each observation we need to know where it
is in relation to the burn, the elevation in feet, and the time (preferably
using a 24 hour clock). The wind (in mph) can be specified as N12 Gust 25 or
something comparable. The temperature and wetbulb
values (in degrees F) should be entered and the RH (in percent) and Dewpoint (in degrees F) can also be entered if known,
otherwise they will automatically be calculated for you. Finally, any remarks
about clouds, weather, or other imprtant information
should be entered in the Sky/Weather box.
10
- Primary Forecast Elements: Not all spot forecasts are created equal,
so we are asking you to tell us what are the forecast
elements you need, or are particularly important. There are six
parameters listed for you. Select which ones you want a forecast for, and for
the time period(s) you would like as well (available times are Today, Tonight,
and Tomorrow).
11
- Remarks: If a meteorological parameter is not listed and you would
like to have Haines Index for example, enter that information in the Remarks
section. You can also enter in information with respect to when you might want
the forecast or any other information/input you can give to us with respect to
the spot forecast request.
12
- Action: You now have three options. You can Submit Request, Cancel
Request, or Clear Form. When you hit Submit Request, various
checks are performed on the data you have entered. Some problems make it
impossible for your request to be accepted such as not providing any of the
required elements listed in red, while others will produce warnings and
messages for your information. If an error is found, you will be taken to a
page that describes the errors or minor problems. You can click on Go Back
and Fix and have the opportunity to make the necessary changes. You can
click on Submit Request anyway, but more than likely we will probably be
sending back a question or calling. You do have one more option and that is to Cancel
Request.
*
After you have submitted a spot forecast request, an individualized spot
forecast web page becomes available for that burn. The page automatically
updates every minute so that as new information becomes available for the burn,
you see it immediately. Detailed maps of the area around the burn are generated
and displayed when they become available.
*
Once the forecast is COMPLETED and made available to you, the page will
not update anymore. Thus if we have to update the forecast, we would be calling
you to inform you of the upcoming change, since the page no longer updates or
has a way to inform you that a change has been sent. When you go back into the
forecast, the only way you might pick up on the changed forecast is at the top
of the page it shows the time that the spot was requested and the time it was
issued. The issue time will have changed. Keep in
mind that "sensitive" information like your name, phone number, and
the exact location of the burn are NOT visible to others - only to you and the
NWS.
*
If we have questions about your request, we may send you back a question. If
this happens, the Status Box will show the word QUESTION and the box on
the map will turn purple. Click on this and you will see a big red box in the
forecast page with our question. Usually there is some problem with the request
that you can probably fix (use the CHANGE REQUEST link to do this, make
your changes if necessary, then submit the request
once again. The purple box will return to green and the word QUESTION
will change back to PENDING). Remember, you can always call us.
*
When your forecast is complete, it will show up in the spot forecast web page
(clicking on the red box in the map or COMPLETED in the Status Box can
access the spot). On the forecast page a Feedback box will appear where you can
provide us on information with respect to how the forecast worked out, perhaps
later in the day or several days down the road. This feedback helps us to
improve. Simply type in your feedback into the box and click on Send
Feedback.
*
At the bottom of the forecast page are links for actions that you can take. For
example, you can go "Back to Spot List" to return to the
monitor page. If you are on the same computer where you made the original
request, you can click on "Change Request" to change the
details of your request. This is what you would do if we send you a question
and you need to change some information. If you need to delete a request,
simply click on "Delete Request".
*
You can also click on "Copy Info to New Spot Request". This is
helpful for burns that last over several days. Rather than having to re-enter
the data in the form to get a new forecast, you can view the previous spot
request and then copy all the location parameters to a new request using this
link. This will save you some time when filling out the request form.
* Invariably, something will go wrong at some point, and you might not be able to request or receive spot requests via the web page.