In August 2011, the public, private, and academic sectors involved with providing weather services came together through the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and its Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise. Nearly 200 participants convened to discuss areas of common and pressing interest with a particular focus this year on the critical data needs and the economic value of meteorological services to society. The community recognizes that national and global economies have been reeling in recent times from major setbacks from various causes—not the least of which are those created by weather, water, and climate phenomena, from significant tornado outbreaks, to the fallout from the tsunami that brought devastation to Japan. The entire weather, water, and climate enterprise has much to offer in recovering and building vibrant global economies. At stake are hundreds of billions of dollars in economic productivity, protection of valuable resources and the safety of countless lives.

Particular areas of interest in our community meeting this summer included:
-Economic value of the public and private efforts on weather
-Meteorological data
-Transportation
-Renewable energy with emphasis on offshore wind and solar energy
-Environmental information services
-Carbon and greenhouse gas information products
-Human health
-Water resources with emphasis on drought and floods.

This Town Hall Meeting will provide an overview of the highlights and crosscutting themes of the meeting, as well as the consensus recommendations from those convened. The meeting provided insight toward the next steps of coordinated, effective action and cooperation across all sectors of the enterprise to address these issues.

For additional information, please email George Frederick or Betsy Weatherhead

The operational radar network for the United States (currently the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler, WSR-88D) is in the midst of a transition to dual-polarimetric capabilities—the nation’s largest upgrade to its weather radars since the early 1990s. Dual-polarimetric technology is expected to improve rainfall estimates, data quality, and the identification of precipitation type and storm structure. These advances are expected to improve the detection and short-term prediction of high-impact events, such as tornadoes, hail, heavy rain, and winter storms. To fully utilize these new capabilities and achieve these critical improvements, forecasters and users will need to properly interpret dual-polarimetric radar products and develop new expertise in their applications. The AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists is sponsoring this Town Hall Meeting to discuss the status of the national radar upgrade, emphasizing forecaster and end-user preparation for these new capabilities. Discussions will provide users with an update on the status of the nationwide upgrade, as well as an opportunity for a question and answer session emphasizing the operational use of the system in forecasting and warning applications. For additional information, please contact Andrew Molthan (e-mail: andrew.molthan@nasa.gov; tel: 256-961-7474).

National Weather Service tornado warnings during the massive spring outbreaks of 2011 averaged 20 - 25 minute lead times! This was far above the national average - however we still lost over 500 people! What is not being conveyed to save lives and property? How can the end-to-end warning process be improved and partnerships strengthened so that warnings can effectively communicate and meaningful information resulting in life-saving actions? To tackle these types of questions and engage key stakeholders in America’s Weather Enterprise, a diverse group of community leaders, scientists (both physical and social), weather service providers, responders, the media, industry and government leaders, met in mid-December 2011, to launch a national conversation on how to improve the nation’s resiliency against severe weather. This unique gathering, captured input from those with front-line experience using severe weather warnings to seek opportunities to improve impact-based forecasts and warnings, to sharpen science-service linkages, and to identify enhanced communication and service delivery innovations that enhance readiness and reduce fatalities. This AMS Town Hall meeting will include a briefing on the initial priorities identified at the Fall gathering and seeks to broaden community engagement. The Town Hall will also foreshadow plans for follow-on discussions and meetings during the first half of 2012. Please spend your lunch hour becoming a part of this ongoing dialogue and find out how the community is going to move forward to improve the warning process and save lives. For additional information, please contact David Green, NOAA/NWS/OCWWS (e-mail: David.Green@noaa.gov; tel: 301.580.3517), Russell Schneider, NOAA/NWS/SPS (e-mail: russell.schneider@noaa.gov; tel: 405-325-2066) or John Ferree NOAA/NWS/SPC (e-mail: John.T.Ferree@noaa.gov; tel: 405-325-2209).

With NOAA’s Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) now complete, NOAA is beginning to develop its 5-Year Research Plan for the period 2013–17. In helping to craft the NGSP, NOAA scientists agreed on a set of overarching scientific challenges to guide the agency’s research and form the basis for the research plan. NOAA is now seeking input from the broader scientific community to help refine its research planning. During this session, the overarching scientific challenges articulated in the NGSP will be reviewed and efforts to identify associated needs and gaps will be described. Participants’ input will be sought so NOAA can produce a research plan that takes into account the perspectives and capabilities of the extramural oceanic and atmospheric science community. For additional information, please contact Derek Parks (e-mail: derek.parks@noaa.gov).

As the renewable energy complex grows globally, key atmospheric data have to continually be obtained, analyzed, and understood by financiers in order to assess weather variability and determine appropriate siting and funding for projects. These projects are typically built with the intention of delivering electricity to the grid over a 20–30-year period, during which time weather and climate vary substantially. The initial phase of funding generally calls for a resource assessment using reanalysis and other historical reference methodologies and placing on-site instrumentation (both in situ and remote sensing equipment) to collect data over a period of time to determine what a project might yield over its lifetime. The weather discussed during this prospecting and subsequent financing process is generally referred to as “bankable data.” Bankable data is currently more of a concept rather than a rigorously defined entity; however, it is generally accepted as having data deemed good enough to warrantee or finance a project. This Town Hall Meeting will focus on four key areas: uncertainty analysis, remote sensing, in situ sensing, and historical modelling techniques. The objectives of this Town Hall Meeting are (a) to provide the AMS community with a better understanding of what bankable data are; (b) to discuss a common language surrounding bankable data for financiers and scientists through uncertainty analysis; (c) to propose continued cooperation among scientists, engineers, and financiers to set best standards and practices, including information about the strengths, limitations, and uncertainties of various types of datasets; and (d) to open a discussion among the industry panelists and attendees on bankable data. This Town Hall Meeting is being held in conjunction with the AMS Energy Committee and the AMS Renewable Energy Subcommittees’ Third Conference on Weather, Climate, and the New Energy Economy. Immediately following this Town Hall Meeting, joins us for an "Energizing" Happy Hour reception. Kick off the night's activities with snacks and drinks. Full details on the reception will be posted at the town hall meeting. For additional information, please contact Melinda Marquis (e-mail: melinda.marquis@noaa.gov; tel: 303-497-4487), Jerry Crescenti (e-mail: jerry.cresenti@iberdrolaren.com; tel: 503-796-6997), or Kevin Stenson (e-mail: kevin.stenson@meteogroup.com; tel: 224-595-6714).

The contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC WGI AR5) will be completed in 2013. It is expected that AR5 will provide an improved understanding compared to previous IPCC reports and quantitative assessments of climate change. The objective of this Town Hall Meeting is to discuss with the community the priorities that should frame the Department of Energy’s (DOE) investments in climate and earth system modeling that exploit gaps and opportunities from the anticipated outcomes of the IPCC AR5 and likely priorities of the IPCC AR6. Uncertainty quantification, integrated modeling, decadal predictions, and next-generation high-performance computing capabilities are expected to be key elements of the Town Hall Meeting discussions on science priorities. For additional information, please contact Patrick Horan (e-mail: patrick.horan@science.doe.gov).

A perilous gap in Earth observations, from all sources of remotely or directly sensed data including satellite, aerial, radar, and numerous terrestrial, oceanic and Great Lakes in-situ instruments, is imminent. In a 2007 report, the National Research Council (NRC) warned that “the nation’s Earth observation satellite programs, once the envy of the world, are in disarray.” Since that NRC report, multiple national organizations and institutions have reported directly to the U.S. Congress in written and oral testimony that the country has experienced an unprecedented series of setbacks and budget cuts in all of our Earth observations systems. The last two Earth-observation research satellites launched by NASA to join our global scale data-collection network failed upon launch, and the next two in the launch queue (the DESDynI mission scheduled for launch in 2016 and the CLARREO mission scheduled 2017) have been delayed or cancelled due to budget constraints. The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) that NOAA and the nation depend on for weather forecasts and emergency response has been flat-funded by Congress with a consequent impending data gap of 18 months to two years beginning in the year 2016. The U.S. Geological Survey has eliminated its much anticipated Climate Effects Network and has no formal plan to replace this critical observational tool for managing a significant part of the nation’s natural resource inventory. In addition, many states are closing their in-situ observational networks due to severe budget constraints. One after another, critical and historic long-term observational networks are failing due to age and/or have been eliminated due to budget constraints and unfortunate mechanical mishaps. The 2007 NRC report went on to recommend the “U.S. government, working in concert with the private sector, academe, the public, and its international partners, should renew its investment in Earth-observing systems and restore its leadership in Earth science and applications.” Now more than ever, the leaders of our Earth science and applications agencies, companies, and academic partners must reinvigorate our collective efforts to restore this critical data generation network. The consequences of not addressing this real, active threat to our Earth-observations network are potentially severe and undoubtedly will impact the safety and economic well-being of our nation’s citizens and communities. The following provides but one example of an impact from the expected gap of observations from the future JPSS. The forecast of the major snow storm that hit Washington, D.C., in February 2010 was remarkably accurate. After the storm, an analysis was performed to identify the impact on the forecast skill of removing the satellite afternoon-orbit observations. The model analysis indicated that the forecast of this storm would have been degraded without the afternoon-orbit observations. A less accurate forecast would likely have meant increased congestion of air and surface transportation, property damage, and financial loss, centered about our Nation’s Capital. However, because the afternoon satellite observations are still available and used in the National Weather Service’s (NWS’s) forecasts, the prediction of this snow storm was notably much more accurate. Therefore businesses and individuals were able to modify plans to avoid risks and expenses that the storm introduced. In the not-to-distant future, e.g., 2016, there will not to be an afternoon-orbit to provide Earth observations necessary to ensure that today’s weather forecasts remain as accurate as possible. This Town Hall meeting will feature leaders from government, academia, and the private sector discussing the observational network gaps the nation faces and the impacts we are now experiencing and are likely to face in the future. Each panelist will give their agency or company perspective on observational network gaps and impacts. Then the floor will be open for comments, suggestions, and detailed discussion of the need for observational networks and the utility of the data they provide. It is anticipated that members of the AMS and affiliated communities will formulate a systematic strategic path forward for addressing these critical Earth science basic data gathering observational networks and help to begin to address the challenges we face. This town hall meeting is organized by the AMS Commission on the Weather & Climate Enterprise. For additional information, please contact DeWayne Cecil (e-mail: DeWayne.Cecil@noaa.gov).

This Town Hall Meeting will discuss technology and scientific approaches and decision support capabilities developed to address water-related issues in the United States that may be applicable internationally. This Town Hall Meeting will address projects where U.S. capabilities have been applied to multinational rivers, flood and flash flood preparedness and prediction, and national and multinational water resource management systems. Within each topic area hydrologists and water resource management specialists will describe a problem, identify and detail some solution(s), and provide a summary of lessons learned. This Town Hall Meeting will encourage and promote participation from audience members, who are invited to share their experiences in water resource management. To engender discussion and engage the audience, below are examples of questions the attendees will have the opportunity to address: Are there additional examples of international cooperation where U.S. technology has been applied? Are there additional opportunities where international needs may be helped through U.S. contributions? Are there other areas/mechanisms by which the U.S. can help the international community? Can we identify areas where the U.S. can help the international community in hydrology (location and problem identification)? Are there examples of where the United States has helped? What are some areas/ways in which the United States can help further? What are challenges for the international water community? How can U.S. experience help? What funding mechanisms are available to promote/support international hydrology and water resource applications? For additional information, please contact Tom Fahey (e-mail: tfahy@capitolgr.com).

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates global change science, tools, and services across 13 federal agencies. Leadership from USGCRP will discuss its new decadal strategic plan, to be published in early 2012, which provides a new vision for the program, organized around four pillars: advance science, inform decisions, sustained assessments, and communicate and educate. Panelists will describe USGCRP’s emerging activities to further fundamental research and inform decisions in an ever-changing environment. Activities include integrated modeling and observations, research in support of adaptation decisions, the National Climate Assessment (NCA), plans for the development of an interagency global change information portal/system, and efforts to enhance a multiway dialogue through active communication, education, and engagement with its stakeholders. These initiatives will provide an information base to support decisions that minimize global change risks to the environment, the economy, and society. This presentation will help attendees gain a better understanding of the new USGCRP vision and strategy, ongoing interagency activities, opportunities for involvement in USGCRP’s efforts, and current and future products, tools, and services of utility to scientists and decision makers. The intended audience is scientists, educators, policy makers, and managers working in areas of global change. For additional information, please contact Julie Morris (e-mail: jmorris@usgcrp.gov) or Emily Wasley (e-mail: ewasley@usgcrp.gov).

Between 1989 and 2000, the nation invested $4.5 billion to implement the Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR) of the National Weather Service (NWS). To date, no one has done a comprehensive assessment of the MAR plan and its execution and resulting service improvements. To fill this gap, the U.S. Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to assess the past modernization process and at the same time identify lessons learned to support future improvements to NWS capabilities. The committee is writing its final report, which will address new science and technologies that allow for even better forecasts, the integration of new technologies and better models into NWS operations, workforce composition and structure; and improving current partnerships with private industry, academia, and other governmental agencies. The purpose of this Town Hall Meeting is to allow the NAS committee responsible for the assessment to gather input from the AMS community on how NWS can best plan, deploy, and oversee future service improvements; the Town Hall Meeting will be a conversation with participants from the private, academic, and public sectors. For additional information, please contact Maggie Walser (e-mail: mwalser@nas.edu; tel: 202-334-3614).

This Town Hall Meeting will provide an opportunity for the earth science community to interact with members of the leadership team and staff of the Earth Science Division (ESD) of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Brief presentations by the ESD leadership will precede a longer opportunity for audience questions. Topics to be addressed in this Town Hall Meeting include scientific accomplishments and programmatic milestones from the past year, current programmatic directions, and NASA’s progress toward implementing the missions identified in the June 2010 report " Responding to the Challenge of Climate and Environmental Change: NASA’s Plan for a Climate-Centric Architecture for Earth Observations and Applications from Space," which incorporates recommendations from the National Research Council’s 2007 Decadal Survey for Earth Science, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond.” Recent developments in the Venture Class program and the nonflight parts of the NASA program (e.g., research and analysis, applied sciences, technology) and NASA's involvement in interagency and international programs will also be reviewed. For additional information, please contact Jack Kaye (e-mail: jack.kaye@nasa.gov).

This Town Hall will discuss NOAA efforts to provide information on impacts of the predicted La Niña and interagency efforts to prepare for these events. As of November 2011, another La Niña was in-progress, and decision makers in the central U.S. were working to prepare for the possibility of additional flooding and drought in the spring and the summer of 2012. Might this winter see a repeat performance of last winter’s infamous snows, and the spring and summer of 2012 feature a continuation of drought conditions in the southern Great Plains and major flooding in the Missouri Basin? How can we be better prepared for another set of high impact weather and climate extremes? Beginning in November, 2011, NOAA’s La Nina Missouri Basin Pilot Project is providing regionally-focused Webinars aimed at federal, tribal, state and local governments, businesses, and the media. These events allow producers and users of NOAA climate information an opportunity to talk directly with product producers to discuss their concerns and needs, including the short and long-term implications of forecasts and climate events. Panelists from NOAA, USACE, and local/state government will address: - Last winter's climate/weather/other impacts specific to the speaker's region or function - Climate/weather/hydrology products used/provided - Additional products or support desired/available - Their organization's role in, or hopes for, the La Nina Pilot For additional information, please contact Ed O’Lenic (e-mail: Ed.Olenic@noaa.gov).

This session will focus on the progress, status, and direction of Earth science pre-formulation mission planning and development activities at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA.) Special emphasis will be given to programs that support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Mission that quantify the changing distribution of extreme weather events and enable improvements in weather, ocean, and climate prediction. Mr. Stephen Volz, Associate Director, Flight Programs, Earth Science Division, NASA will be the presenter. For further information, please contact Elizabeth Nolan (e-mail: Elizabeth.Nolan@noaa.gov) or John Pereira (e-mail: john.pereira@noaa.gov).

For years, communities around the U.S. have been actively undertaking planning efforts and implementing actions that would be classified as hazard mitigation. At its core, hazard mitigation is about taking efforts to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters on built, social, and natural systems. Traditionally based on historic information, hazard mitigation allows communities to look at historic issues (i.e. flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes), analyze the impacts associated with those historic events, and devise strategies to reduce the likely impacts that would occur should that event repeat itself. Fundamentally, hazard mitigation is about using the past to prepare for the future. Greatly enhanced by support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), hazard mitigation planning has become mainstream for the vast majority of local communities. Another important area of local community action is around climate adaptation planning and implementation. Climate adaptation centers on looking at how future changes in climate and weather could impact built, natural, and social systems within communities and devising strategies to lessen those impacts. While still nascent, climate adaptation is becoming more of a mainstream concern for local communities – especially in light of the record economic damage associated with the various 2011 weather events. Contrasting hazard mitigation and climate adaptation, one can quickly deduce that the primary difference between these two concepts is the timescale of information used for planning. Hazard mitigation looks at historic hazards as the foundation for future hazards. Climate adaptation looks at likely future hazards as the foundation for future planning. While seemingly in conflict, hazard mitigation and climate adaptation are fundamentally similar concepts. In fact, to be successful, climate adaptation must draw upon the successes learned in the hazard mitigation field. Additionally, the traditional hazard mitigation field will create a false sense of security for local communities and citizens if it does not take into consideration how potential changes in weather and climate could impact disasters. Given the urgent need for stakeholders of all sizes to reduce their vulnerability to changes in weather and climate, it is critical that climate adaptation become a core component of local, state, regional, and national-level decision-making. Given the existing interest in hazard mitigation, one logical way to rapidly scale-up climate adaptation is by integrating future climate considerations into the hazard mitigation planning process. By doing so, existing hazard mitigation planning processes will be enhanced by ensuring that communities are prepared for historic as well as future threats. The end result will be communities that are more economically, socially, and environmentally robust and vibrant. For additional information, please contact Tom Fahy (e-mail: tfahy@capitolgr.com).

As part of the annual CCM Forum, a town hall meeting will be held to address ethics issues that face today’s practicing meteorologists. The meeting will start with a keynote speaker, followed by a panel to further investigate some contemporary ethics problems that may be unique to the meteorology community. The panel will be composed of a group of actively practicing meteorologists from various sectors of our industry, including academia, government, and industrial meteorology. For additional information, please contact John Henz (e-mail: jfhenz@comcast.net).

The National Climate Assessment (NCA), a synthesis of the work of the U.S .Global Change Research Program, analyzes current and future trends in global change, examines the impacts of global change on natural and human systems, and discusses societal responses (e.g., mitigation and adaptation). During the first portion of the session, scientific and program leaders from the NCA will present a short introduction to the NCA, review the science informing the NCA, outline the topics and process for creating the 2013 NCA report, provide an update on progress toward the 2013 report, and discuss the vision for a sustained assessment process. The second part of the session will allow participants to ask questions about the NCA process and products and provide input on both the 2013 report and implementation of an ongoing NCA process. Anyone with an interest in climate science and global change is welcome. For additional information, please contact Emily Cloyd (e-mail: ecloyd@usgcrp.gov).

Tight federal funding, super committees, political gridlock -- what are the consequences for our community, and what messages should we be sending to Washington as the 2012 election season heats up? This panel presentation, to be followed by audience discussion, will first address the impact of FY 2012 appropriations, the outlook for FY 2013, and the politics and ramifications for our community of overarching efforts to address the country's economic woes. The panel will also review conclusions drawn from last summer's AMS community meeting that will help us sort top-level priorities, identify opportunities in a challenging time, and enhance our advocacy message to Congress. As a vehicle for that message, an outline of the draft "transition document" will be unveiled that will be used to inform presidential and congressional candidates as well as elected officials of the value of our community to this country. Please join us for this town hall, sponsored by the Weather Coalition, and lend your voice to these critical topics during an extended discussion period. Panelists will include Pam Emch of Northrop Grumman, Wendy Naus of Lewis-Burke Associates, John Snow of the University of Oklahoma, and Jack Fellows of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. For additional information, please contact Laura Curtis (e-mail: lcurtis@ucar.edu).