Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

Autumn 2012 Outreach Wrap

Collage #1 of outreach photos and activities for September through early December, 2012

From Left: Forecaster Maria Torres discussing careers in meteorology at the UTPA Career Expo; Warning Coordination Meteorologist Barry Goldsmith introduces emergency managers to the NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley operations area at Partners Appreciation Day; Forecaster Maria Torres prepares spaghetti for residents of Ronald McDonald House of the Rio Grande Valley.

Spanning the Valley to Serve...Again!
From Weather Education to Helpful Hands, We Were There

As summer faded to autumn and children, parents, and seasonal residents returned to the Valley, the NWS in Brownsville was involved in dozens of activities, from educational to philanthropical, between early September and early December. For another year, the slogan "Thousands and Thousands Served" was fitting. As the Holiday Season continues, we are truly blessed to have a community that invites our staff to educate, contribute, and just have good clean fun. From promoting weather safety and preparedness to supporting in–residence families at the Ronald McDonald House, you could count on us to serve our extended "family" in the Valley. The following is a list of the more significant activities we participated in from early September to early December, 2012:

Oceanarium, Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, September 8th. Hundreds of children and parents learned about all things oceanic, including marine weather and waterspouts. Games and puzzles, too!
Business to Botana Expo, Brownsville, September 26th. We set up a booth and welcomed dozens of local business owners to discuss what we do and how we serve.
HESTEC Career Expo at UTPA, September 27th and 28th. Staff from NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley hosted a booth for prospective students and young professionals interested in careers in weather, information technology, and communications.
National Week of Community Service: Ronald McDonald House of the RGV, October 1st and 2nd. Our staff prepared two meals in two days for up to three families whose children were receiving emergency treatment at Valley Baptist Hospital in Harlingen.
Valley Environmental Summit, October 4th, Brownsville. We hosted a booth to educate local dignitaries, businesses, and students, on Rio Grande Valley weather and climate and impact on the local environment.
KMBH Public Radio Fall Fiesta, KMBH studios, Harlingen, October 18th through 23rd. NWS staff answered telephones and provided information on the Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley office via live "cut–ins" during the morning and evening news hours on the 18th, 22nd, and 23rd. A brief segment was taped for broadcast of "Valley Community and Culture", a daily broadcast of activities and public service entities across the RGV.
StormFury!, Texas State Technical College Cultural Center, Harlingen, October 20th. Hundreds of children and parents learned about how the NWS works, how we observe and predict weather, how a waterspout and tornado are formed, and weather related fun and games.
Boo at the Zoo 2012, Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, October 30th–31st. Thousands of children in costume enjoying candy and meeting several of our staff over the course of the Halloween period at this annual event.
Partners Appreciation Day, November 7th. More than two dozen core partners in Emergency Management, Public Health, Broadcast Media, and others met staff, toured the office, and learned about building a Weather Ready Rio Grande Valley.
Rio Grande Valley Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Day, McAllen Convention Centre, November 14th. Provided examples of how NOAA and NWS are increasingly incorporating GIS into operations to members of the local user community, and students at South Texas College.
Sears Family Fun Days, November 11th (McAllen/La Plaza Mall) and December 2nd (Harlingen/Valle Vista Mall). Forecast staff showed children of all ages how waterspouts worked and handed out information on floods, hurricanes, and more at these promotional events.
14th Annual Skywarn® Recognition Day. On December 2nd, NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley hosted three amateur radio operators who made 53 contacts (QSL) with operators across the United States, including direct communications with sixteen other participating NWS offices. Operators included Patrick Patterson (Operator license: N5SLI), Dr. David Woolweaver (K5RAV), and Martin Diaz (KF5IKN). Onsite operators included Brian Miller (KE5AWU), Jason Straub (KE5TRC), and Mike Castillo (N5XMR).
2nd Annual Texas Olive Oil Festival, December 2nd, KMBH studio grounds, Harlingen. Weather information was provided to visitors and vendors, with a focus on climate and drought issues.
School Visits. Several visits were made during autumn to local school career–oriented activities by our staff.

Our staff is just a phone call, email, or Facebook message away from making arrangements to be part of your activities, weatherwise and otherwise. We’ve got plenty of room to accomodate your request, via in house tour or bringing our information to you. Drop us a line in one of three ways:

Call.. 956–504–1432, extension 1, will get you to our operations floor.
Email.. For school tours, contact Mr. Jim Campbell, Data Acquisition Program Manager. For scientific presentations, contact Mr. Douglas Butts, Science and Operations Officer. For all others, contact Mr. Barry Goldsmith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist.
Facebook. Like us today and send us a message at our Facebook Page.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Collage #2 of outreach photos and activities for September through early December, 2011

From Left: The 2012 "Boo at the Zoo Crew" – ’Tornado’ Geoff Bogorad, Sam and Martha Martinez, Joseph Tomaselli, and ’CaveGeek’ Barry Goldsmith; Hydrometeorological Technician Sam Martinez handing out candy and NWS tattoos at Boo at the Zoo; Forecaster Justin Gibbs demonstrating atmospheric physics to students at Resaca Middle School Career Day; Senior Forecaster Brian Miller along with Mr. Martin Diaz manning the ham radio shack at Skywarn® Recognition Day.

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Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

Wrap up of 2012 Autumn Outreach Activities by NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley