NOUS41 KWBC 041612
PNSWSH

TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICE 08-01
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
1112 AM EST FRI JAN 4 2008

TO:      FAMILY OF SERVICES /FOS/ SUBSCRIBERS...NOAA WEATHER
         WIRE SERVICE /NWWS/ SUBSCRIBERS...EMERGENCY
         MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK /EMWIN/
         SUBSCRIBERS...NOAAPORT SUBSCRIBERS...OTHER NATIONAL
         WEATHER SERVICE /NWS/ PARTNERS AND USERS...NWS
         EMPLOYEES

FROM:    ELI JACKS
         CHIEF...FIRE AND PUBLIC WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH

SUBJECT: EDITING HEADLINES TO ENHANCE CLARITY AND ACCURACY
         OF LONG DURATION WEATHER PRODUCTS: EFFECTIVE BEGINNING 
         JANUARY 2008

STARTING JANUARY 2008 THROUGH APRIL 2008, AS NWS WEATHER FORECAST 
OFFICES /WFOS/ IMPLEMENT ADVANCED WEATHER INTERACTIVE PROCESSING 
SYSTEM /AWIPS/ OPERATIONAL BUILD OB8.2 SOFTWARE...HEADLINES IN 
LONG DURATION WEATHER PRODUCTS MAY OCCASIONALLY BE EDITED DURING 
COMPLICATED WEATHER SCENARIOS. THIS EDITING WILL BE DONE BECAUSE 
AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED HEADLINES ARE SOMETIMES CONFUSING OR 
INACCURATE.  THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS MAY BE AFFECTED:

-WINTER WEATHER /WSW/
-NON PRECIPITATION /NPW/
-RED FLAG /RFW/
-COASTAL HAZARD /CFW/
-COASTAL WATERS FORECAST /CWF/
-NEAR SHORE /NSH/
-MARINE WEATHER /MWW/
-MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT /MWS/
-HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT /HLS/
-FLOOD WATCH /FFW/

WHEN VALID TIME EVENT CODE /VTEC/ WAS IMPLEMENTED IN NOVEMBER 
2004...AWIPS LONG DURATION WEATHER HEADLINES WERE NO LONGER 
EDITABLE. THIS CHANGE RESULTED IN AN OCCASIONAL LACK OF CLARITY 
AND ACCURACY IN HEADLINES. AS OB8.2 IS IMPLEMENTED...FORECASTERS 
WILL BE ALLOWED TO EDIT THESE HEADLINES TO BETTER CONVEY THE 
APPROPRIATE MESSAGE TO USERS. THE DECISION TO ALLOW THIS PRACTICE 
WAS MADE WITH INPUT FROM MANY NWS STAKEHOLDERS AND NATIONAL 
PARTNERS. MOST LONG DURATION WEATHER HEADLINES WILL NOT BE 
EDITED.

USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO USE VTEC...WHICH WILL REMAIN UNEDITABLE
...BECAUSE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO AUTOMATICALLY PARSE NWS 
HEADLINES WITH THIS CHANGE.

NATIONAL GUIDELINES REGARDING HEADLINE EDITING WILL BE MADE 
AVAILABLE AS AN APPENDIX TO A FUTURE UPDATE OF NWS INSTRUCTION 
/NWSI/ 10-1701...TEXT PRODUCT FORMATS AND CODES...AT /USE LOWER 
CASE LETTERS/:

  HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/DIRECTIVES/SYM/PD01017001CURR.PDF.

GUIDANCE FOR EDITING HEADLINES HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO NWS 
FORECASTERS AND IS AVAILABLE AT /USER LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

  HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/OS/VTEC/PDFS/HEADLINES.PDF

NWS FORECASTERS WILL USE THE GUIDANCE TO EDIT HEADLINES. 
FORECASTERS WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM THIS GUIDANCE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY 
NECESSARY TO PROVIDE A CLEAR AND ACCURATE FORECAST.

FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING VTEC ARE AVAILABLE AT /USE LOWER CASE 
LETTERS/:

  HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/VTEC/INDEX.SHTML

THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS CHANGE IS SOONER THAN SPECIFIED BY NWS 
POLICY INSTRUCTION 10-1805 /NATIONAL SERVICE CHANGE AND TECHNICAL 
IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES/. THE REDUCTION OF THE NORMAL ADVANCE LEAD 
TIME WAS APPROVED BECAUSE THIS CHANGE WAS REQUESTED BY USERS FOR 
IMPLEMENTATION THIS WINTER SEASON. THIS CHANGE HAS BEEN BRIEFED 
TO PARTNERS AND USERS DURING NATIONAL PARTNERS MEETINGS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION 
NOTICE OR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE HEADLINE EDITING GUIDANCE 
PROVIDED FORECASTERS...PLEASE CONTACT

     PAUL STOKOLS
     NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
     FIRE AND PUBLIC WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH
     1325 EAST WEST HWY 
     SILVER SPRING MARYLAND 20910
     PHONE: 301-713-1867 EXTENSION 139
     EMAIL: PAUL.STOKOLS@NOAA.GOV

THIS NOTICE AND OTHER SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES CAN BE FOUND ONLINE 
AT/USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

  WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/NOTIF/HTM

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