PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

BUFPNSBUF
Issued at: 355 PM EDT FRI MAY 24 2002
Issued by: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY

...NEW NOAA WEATHER RADIO VOICE TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN WESTERN AND 
CENTRAL NEW YORK...

NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN BUFFALO WILL 
BEGIN IMPLEMENTING NEW VOICES FOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO IN WESTERN AND 
NORTH CENTRAL NEW YORK BEGINNING THE WEEK OF MAY 27TH.

NOAA'S WEATHER SERVICE CARRIED OUT AN EXTENSIVE EVALUATION OF 
COMPUTER SPEECH PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS A SURVEY OF PUBLIC COMMENTS, IN 
ORDER TO SELECT NEW MALE AND FEMALE WEATHER RADIO VOICES THAT WILL 
EFFECTIVELY PROVIDE PUBLIC WARNINGS OF SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS.

THE SYSTEM WILL BE FINE TUNED AT THE BUFFALO WEATHER OFFICE TO 
ENSURE THAT ALL WORDS AND GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE NAMES FOR WESTERN AND 
NORTHERN NEW YORK ARE UNDERSTANDABLE.

THE BUFFALO FORECAST OFFICE SERVES 16 COUNTIES IN WESTERN AND 
CENTRAL NEW YORK, AS WELL AS PARTS OF LAKES ERIE AND ONTARIO AND THE 
ST LAWRENCE RIVER WITH FORECAST AND WARNING INFORMATION 24 HOURS A 
DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK. THESE FORECASTS AND WARNINGS ARE BROADCAST OVER 
NOAA WEATHER RADIO. RADIO COVERAGE IS CURRENTLY PROVIDED IN WESTERN 
AND CENTRAL NEW YORK BY THE FOLLOWING STATIONS:

     BUFFALO......162.550 MHZ       ROCHESTER........162.400 MHZ
     WATERTOWN....162.475 MHZ       LITTLE VALLEY....162.425 MHZ

THE BUFFALO FORECAST OFFICE HAS BEGUN INSTALLATION OF THE SOFTWARE, 
AND LISTENERS WILL BEGIN HEARING THE NEW VOICES ON SELECTED 
FORECASTS BEGINNING THE WEEK OF MAY 27. ALL FORECASTS AND WARNINGS 
SHOULD BE BROADCAST WITH THE NEW VOICES BY THE END OF JUNE.

NOAA'S WEATHER SERVICE FIRST USED A COMPUTER SYNTHESIZED VOICE 
TECHNOLOGY AS PART OF A CONSOLE REPLACEMENT SYSTEM IN 1997. 
AUTOMATING NOAA WEATHER RADIO ENABLED THE WEATHER SERVICE TO SEND 
OUT MULTIPLE INDEPENDENT WARNINGS OVER MULTIPLE TRANSMITTERS 
SIMULTANEOUSLY, ALLOWING SPEEDIER DELIVERY OF SEVERE WEATHER 
WARNINGS AND MORE LEAD TIME FOR THE PUBLIC. TRANSMITTING FROM A 
NETWORK OF MORE THAN 650 STATIONS NATIONWIDE, THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO 
REACHES MORE THAN 85 PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION.

NOAA'S WEATHER SERVICE IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF WEATHER DATA, 
FORECASTS, AND WARNINGS FOR THE UNITED STATES AND ITS TERRITORIES. 
NWS OPERATES THE MOST ADVANCED WEATHER FORECAST AND WARNING SYSTEM 
IN THE WORLD, HELPING TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY AND ENHANCE THE 
NATIONAL ECONOMY.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NOAA WEATHER RADIO, PLEASE VISIT:
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/NWR

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