A Decade of Education and Outreach Programs at a National Weather Service Forecast Office

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) continues to be an important partner in educational efforts for the public, whether it is a senior citizen or philanthropic group, or the K-12 education community. Many NWS offices have some sort of outreach program with the communities in the County Warning Areas (CWAs) that they serve, especially since the NWS' Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR) was completed in the late 1990s. NWS Taunton, MA, has been at the forefront of educational outreach efforts reaching thousands of citizens each year, since moving from Boston's Logan Airport to the Myles Standish Industrial Park in Taunton, MA (40 miles south of Boston) in 1993. The history of the NWS Taunton's Outreach Program, how it has grown over the years, and how changes in outreach philosophy within the NWS and NOAA have necessitated a re-direction of NWS Outreach Services will be discussed. Statistics on the office's outreach efforts will show the program's growth over the years, as well as the diversification of the Outreach Program. The results of a survey the authors conducted in 2002 will be presented, which showed the amount of outreach activity that other NWS offices have conducted and the innovative methods that some offices have used to reach out to their communities. Current outreach efforts at NWS Taunton and how the office remains in touch with the K-12 education community will be examined.