National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
Meet the Staff
About This Page
The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in North Little Rock takes a lot of pride in its work and what it has accomplished.
 

There is a team of 19 dedicated employees and volunteers that keep an eye on the sky, collect data, keep the equipment running, and interact with people on the outside. Yes, there is much more than just forecasting the weather.  It is about serving and taking care of the many needs of Arkansans.  So let's meet the employees that make it all happen...

 
 
 

 

Acting Meteorologist-in-Charge (AMIC)...Dennis Cavanaugh

 

This individual oversees the office operations, and makes sure everything runs smoothly.   This involves interacting with other managers at the office to get a feel for what is needed to better serve the citizens of Arkansas.  The MIC also handles new hires and evaluates the performance of staff members.  Email the AMIC

 

 

Administrative Support Assistant (ASA)...Vacant

 

This individual is an assistant to the MIC. The Administrative Assistant helps take care of official business such as billing, travel orders, and staff time cards. Currently, this position is vacant, with correspondence through the AMIC. Email the AMIC

 

 

Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM)...Dennis Cavanaugh

 

This individual is in-charge of the warning program at the office (i.e. warning information that is sent to the public, verification of warnings, formatting warning information for "Storm Data" publication).  This includes working with emergency managers in 47 counties across Arkansas to help create a plan of action when warnings are issued.  The WCM is also the public relations leader (communicates with county officials, schools, the media, etc), and arranges outreach activities such as weather briefings and Storm Spotters courses (for upcoming classes, click here).  Email the WCM

 

 

Science and Operations Officer (SOO)...Christopher Buonanno

 

The Science and Operations Officer (SOO) works to integrate the latest advances in the science of meteorology, as well as technology innovations, into everyday office operations. This individual handles technical issues at the office, including the development or request of training materials and utilizing computer equipment/software to improve or enhance forecasts/warnings issued by forecasters. The SOO also organizes training seminars and helps write (or offers suggestions on how to write) meteorological research papers for publication. Email the SOO

 

 

Observations Program Leader (OPL)...Sean Clarke

 

This individual oversees data retrieval at the office. The data includes meteorological and hydrological observations sent in manually or by gauges. The OPL oversees the Cooperative Observer Program at the office, which is a network of dedicated individuals mostly in rural areas that send the weather service temperature, precipitation and river information on a daily basis. Email the OPL

 

 

Electronic Systems Administrator (ESA)...Gary Heifner

 

This individual oversees the maintenance of various systems inside and outside the office.  This includes computer equipment, NOAA Weather Radio, the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar), and ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System). Email the ESA

 

 

Information Technology Officer (ITO)...Daniel J. Koch

 

This individual writes and implements computer programs and troubleshoots existing programs. The ITO also analyzes current systems in order to find where improvements could be made. The improvements are related to product generation (i.e. making forecast products easier to produce and more useful to the public) and dissemination. Email the ITO

 

 

Service Hydrologist...Tabitha Clarke

 

This individual is in-charge of hydrological operations at the office.  This includes maintaining information (i.e. flood stages, degrees of flooding at various stages, etc) about rivers and streams in Arkansas, issuing products such as flood forecasts/river flood warnings, and keeping track of rainfall/soil conditions. Email Service Hydrologist

 

 

Senior Forecaster

 

This individual is the shift supervisor [there are 3 shifts: day (6a to 3p), evening (2pm to 11p), and midnight (10p to 7a)] in the forecast area. The senior forecaster routinely issues public/aviation forecasts, works the radar in severe weather when necessary, interacts with the public on social media/outreach activities, and launches weather balloons (to measure temperature, wind, and humidity aloft).  This person makes sure that weather service products such as forecasts and warnings are issued in a timely fashion, and makes shift decisions, assigns duties, logs equipment outages, and keeps a log of events.  There are 6 senior forecasters:

 

Willie Gilmore John A. Lewis III
Joseph Goudsward Lance Pyle
Jeff Hood Chuck Rickard
 

 

Meteorologist/Forecaster

 

This individual is very much like the senior forecaster (issues public/aviation forecasts, works the radar, launches weather balloons, and participates in social media/outreach activities), but without a routine supervisory role. The meteorologist/forecaster also engages in career development projects (such as writing meteorological papers and building leadership skills) to become more well rounded. There are 6 meteorologists/forecasters:

 

Justin Condry Thomas Jones
Dylan Cooper Colby Pope
Erik Green Travis Shelton
 

 

Electronics Technician (ET)

 

This individual is mostly involved with maintaining systems inside and outside the office. This includes computer equipment, NOAA Weather Radio, the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar), and ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System). There is 1 ET:

 

Donald White
 

 

Student Intern/Volunteer

 

This individual, usually a college student in a meteorology program or high school student, is given the opportunity to work in a professional setting at the weather service. The student intern/volunteer gets a taste of most weather service operations, and helps out where needed. The idea is to broaden the learning experience outside the classroom, and to explore career ideas before school has ended. Due mainly to COVID restrictions, there are no student volunteers.