Joint Responsibilities

Joint responsibilities include the following:

Meetings between the NWS offices and the land management agencies.

At least one statewide meeting should be attempted each year, usually coordinated by the NWS State Liaison Office in Columbia. Individual NWS offices normally conduct a meeting with all of their customers, from all affected states, either each year or every other year.

Maintenance and revision of the SC Annual Operating Plan.

The AOP should be revised each year by the end of January, with cooperation and participation from each NWS office and land management agency.

Agreements on services provided.

Agreements are normally reached at statewide meetings, but may be achieved by a series of local meetings or by other means such as telephone or e-mail. NWS offices and land mangers should be aware of the ripple effect an agreement might have on other NWS offices or customers.

Training.

Land management agencies and the NWS collaborate on training of personnel in each others fields of expertise, operations, and equipment. Visits to offices and work centers, as well field job sites can meet part of these training requirements.

Service evaluation.

Services provided by the NWS, and delivery of observations and information from the land management agencies to the NWS in support of these services, shall be under constant evaluation by both parties.

Numbering and archiving of observation stations.

The GACC, when requested to do so by a land management agency, shall assign a station ID number for fire weather observation platforms.

The land management agency will provide the station name, location (county, latitude, and longitude), and elevation to the GACC meteorologist.

The GACC meteorologist will assign the number and assist the station owner in establishing a station catalog in WIMS.

The numbering convention uses a six digit number, starting with 38 (for SC). The following two digit number designates the county, and the counties are numbered from 01 in the northwest, to 46 in the southeast. Due to a past mistake made in numbering, the far southeastern portion of the state does not follow the convention to the letter, but the traditional number have been preserved in the master map.

The GACC meteorologist is responsible for maintaining a database of RAWS stations in his area. This information can be provided to the NWS regional program manager upon request.

The master list for the state will be the list included in the appendix of this operating plan, which will be updated at least annually with any new or changed stations. A copy of the county numbering map for the state of SC will be kept on file at the GACC and each NWS office serving SC.

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