My path to southwest Virginia has been a circuitous one. I spent the last year at the WFO in San Juan, Puerto Rico as the Service Hydrologist and previous to that worked in the same position in Des Moines, Iowa for six years. Prior to that I worked at the West Gulf River Forecast Center in Fort Worth, Texas and started my NWS career at the Office of Hydrology, NWS Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

My wife grew up in the Roanoke area and her family still lives there so I have some knowledge of the Star City. At least I know where the Roanoke River runs through town! We have two kids (9 and 11) who are excited about living in Virginia and being back in the states. My interests include running, hiking, reading, history, games and (now) Spanish.

I am looking forward to the challenge of forecasting floods in the southern Appalachians and getting to know the hydrologic area. Working with local spotters, emergency managers, city officials and others I hope to maintain the excellent hydrology program here and where possible to improve the flood and flash flood program in our area. As a "newbie" I have to rely heavily on the local knowledge of people who have lived in this area for many years.

I welcome email (peter.corrigan@nooa.gov) or phone calls (540-552-1341) from people with knowledge about area rivers and streams and flood (or drought) related issues. I also encourage people to provide feedback on our Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service website (http://ahps.erh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ahps.cgi?rnk).