PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
348 PM CST FRI FEB 12 2010

....MAXIMUM WIND-HAIL SIZE TAG TO BE APPENDED TO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS...

BEGINNING MARCH 1 2010...ALL NWS CENTRAL REGION WEATHER FORECAST
OFFICES WILL BE APPENDING A TAG LINE TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNINGS /SVR/...AND FOLLOW-UP SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENTS /SVS/.
FOR THE GREAT LAKES...THIS TAG LINE WILL ALSO BE APPENDED TO
SPECIAL MARINE WARNINGS /SMW/.

THE TAG LINE IS A CONCISE CODE WHICH IDENTIFIES MAXIMUM HAIL SIZE
AND WIND SPEED EXPECTED FOR A GIVEN WARNING. INCLUSION OF THIS
INFORMATION AT THE END OF THESE PRODUCTS REPRESENTS AN EFFORT TO
RESPOND TO PARTNER REQUESTS FROM THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
COMMUNITY AS WELL AS SEVERAL SOCIETAL IMPACT GROUPS.

FOR INSTANCE...ONE SPECIFIC APPLICATION CONCERNS THE ACTIVATION OF
EMERGENCY ALERT SIRENS. LOCAL AREA SIRENS ARE TYPICALLY ALARMED
FOR TORNADOES ONLY. DECODING THIS TAG LINE WILL FACILITATE THE
CAPABILITY FOR LOCAL AREA EMERGENCY MANAGERS TO ACTIVATE SIRENS
FOR PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM EVENTS WHEN
CONDITIONS EXCEED USER DEFINED THRESHOLDS...SAY FOR WINDS GREATER
THAN 90 MPH FOR EXAMPLE.

THE MAXIMUM WIND-HAIL SIZE TAG LINE IS AN EXPERIMENT WHICH WILL BE
EVALUATED FROM MARCH 1 2010 THROUGH OCTOBER 1 2010. DURING THIS
PERIOD...WE ENCOURAGE COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
USING THE ELECTRONIC SURVEY PROVIDED AT THE LINK BELOW. YOUR
FEEDBACK WILL HELP US DETERMINE PRODUCT USEFULLNESS...WHETHER
MODIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED...AND WHETHER THIS WILL BECOME A
PERMANENT ADDITION TO OUR WARNING FORMAT.

ON-LINE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY /USE LOWER CASE/:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SURVEY/NWS-SU...=SVR-WIND-HAIL

A SERVICE DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT FOR THIS EXPERIMENT IS AVAILABLE
ON-LINE AT:
HTTP://PRODUCTS.WEATHER.GOV

A MAP SHOWING AFFECTED OFFICES IS ON-LINE AT:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/OS/NOTIFICATI...ES/CR_WFOS.PDF

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS MAY BE DIRECTED TO:

OR


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MILLER