FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE04-28
June
1, 2004
Contact:
Ian Michaels, DEP (718/595-6600)
Marcie Katcher, NOAA NWS (631) 244-0149
Department
of Environmental Protection and National Weather Service Team
Up For Better Forecasts
Shared
data to enhance Weather Service’s coverage of watershed
Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Eastern Region Director
Dean P. Gulezian of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s
(NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) announced today that the
two organizations have agreed to share real-time weather data collected
by the DEP in the watershed in order to enhance weather forecasts
in the region.
“This partnership will result in more accurate storm and
weather forecasting for watershed residents, as well as improvements
to the forecasts that the DEP uses to help manage the New York
City water system,” said Commissioner Ward. “By sharing
our data, we are able to take advantage of the Weather Service’s
expertise in analyzing and translating information into real-world
projections. We look forward to working with the National Weather
Service in the future to help improve forecasts for the benefit
of all involved.”
“Our partnership helps provide the public with the best
weather and water information science and technology that exists
today,” Gulezian said. “It is part of our commitment
to ensure the best meteorological and hydrologic information is
available.”
The Department of Environmental Protection operates 26 weather
stations throughout the watershed, including 21 in the 1,600-square-mile
West of Hudson watershed and five in the 400-square-mile East of
Hudson watershed. The stations monitor temperature, humidity, wind
speed and direction, solar radiation and precipitation. Data is
sent to DEP offices automatically every fifteen minutes through
phone lines.
Under the new partnership, a system has been set up to transmit
the data to the National Weather Service at the same time they
are received by the DEP. So far, 23 of the 26 stations are connected,
with the other three to be connected this summer. The DEP’s
26 weather stations cost a total of about $350,000 to build. In
addition to the weather station data, DEP will send real time reservoir
stream release and elevation data collected by DEP reservoir operations
system to NWS.
The shared data will help the Weather Service expand its coverage
in the watershed and make more accurate forecasts of storm warnings,
floods and other events in the region. By better predicting storms
and precipitation trends, the expanded coverage by the NWS will
also help the DEP manage the water system more efficiently.
The project began as a request from the Flood Advisory Committee
of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which was seeking
ways to more accurately forecast dangerous conditions on the Upper
Delaware River.