000
NOUS41 KAKQ 301600
PNSAKQ
MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-VAZ048-049-060>100-010400-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1200 PM EDT TUE APR 30 2013

...SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE FOR RIP CURRENT PRODUCTS...

TO:      SUBSCRIBERS:
         -FAMILY OF SERVICES
         -NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
         -EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
         -NOAAPORT
         OTHER NWS PARTNERS, USERS AND EMPLOYEES

FROM:    MARK TEW
         CHIEF, MARINE AND COASTAL WEATHER SERVICES BRANCH

SUBJECT: EXPANSION OF THE BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT TO
         ADDITIONAL WEATHER FORECAST OFFICES EFFECTIVE
         MAY 20, 2013

EFFECTIVE MONDAY MAY 20, 2013, 10 ADDITIONAL NWS WEATHER FORECAST
OFFICES (WFO) WILL BEGIN TESTING THE BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT
INCLUDING WFO WAKEFIELD. A TOTAL OF 16 WFOS WHICH ALSO INCLUDES
WFO NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY WILL BE TESTING THE BEACH HAZARDS
STATEMENT THIS YEAR (TABLE 1). FOR INFORMATION ON LAST YEARS TEST,
REFER TO SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 12-10:

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/NOTIFICATION/SCN12-10ZONE_DES-AAA.HTM

THIS SEASON WFO WAKEFIELD AND NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY WILL USE THE
FOLLOWING CODING WHEN ISSUING STATEMENTS FOR A HIGH RISK OF RIP
CURRENTS:

THE VALID TIME EVENT CODE (VTEC) BH.S WILL REPLACE RP.S IDENTIFYING
THE BEACH HAZARD STATEMENT WHICH WILL INCLUDE RIP CURRENTS.

THERE ARE NO NEW VTEC CODES FOR THE TEST. THE SAME PRODUCTS WILL
ALSO BE USED TO PORTRAY THE DAILY RIP CURRENT THREAT. THE ONLY
CHANGE IS TO THE VTEC CODING ITSELF. USERS SHOULD NOT NEED TO
MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THEIR SYSTEMS.

TABLE 1: COMMUNICATION IDENTIFIERS FOR NWS OFFICES TESTING BEACH
HAZARD STATEMENTS, EFFECTIVE MAY 20, 2013:

ISSUING WFO                  WMO HEADER             AWIPS ID
-----------                  -----------            --------
NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY, NC    WHUS42 KMHX            CFWMHX
WAKEFIELD, VA                WHUS41 KAKQ            CFWAKQ
NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE, LA  WHUS44 KLIX            CFWLIX
TAMPA BAY AREA, FL           WHUS42 KTBW            CFWTBW
MIAMI, FL                    WHUS42 KMFL            CFWMFL
KEY WEST, FL                 WHUS42 KKEY            CFWKEY
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX           WHUS44 KCRP            CFWCRP
GRAND RAPIDS, MI             WHUS43 KGRR            CFWGRR
MARQUETTE, MI                WHUS43 KMQT            CFWMQT
GAYLORD, MI                  WHUS43 KAPX            CFWAPX
NORTHERN INDIANA, IN         WHUS43 KIWX            CFWIWX
CHICAGO, IL                  WHUS43 KLOT            CFWLOT
SEATTLE, WA                  WHUS56 KSEW            CFWSEW
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA   WHUS46 KMTR            CFWMTR
LOS ANGELES/OXNARD, CA       WHUS46 KLOX            CFWLOX
SAN DIEGO, CA                WHUS46 KSGX            CFWSGX


WFOS NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY, NC AND WAKEFIELD, VA WILL CONTINUE TO USE
THE COASTAL FLOOD STATEMENT (VTEC CF.S) FOR MINOR FLOODING AND THE
BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT (VTEC BH.S) FOR ALL OTHER BEACH AND SURF
ZONE RELATED HAZARDS, INCLUDING RIP CURRENTS. THEY WILL NOT USE
THE RIP CURRENT STATEMENT (VTEC RP.S).

THE BEACH HAZARD STATEMENT PROVIDES BEACHGOERS AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES WITH SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION RELATED TO HAZARDS,
ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL, WHICH DO NOT MEET NWS ADVISORY OR WARNING
CRITERIA.  THIS INCLUDES, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

- DANGEROUS CURRENTS IN THE SURF ZONE
- UNUSUAL SURF/WAVE CONDITIONS NOT MEETING ADVISORY CRITERIA
- UNUSUAL WATER TEMPERATURES
- UNUSUAL WEATHER CONDITIONS ALONG THE BEACH THAT DO NOT MEET
  ADVISORY CRITERIA

RIP CURRENT STATEMENTS INFORM BEACHGOERS OF THE POTENTIAL AND
RISK LEVEL FOR RIP CURRENTS.

COASTAL FLOOD STATEMENTS INFORM BEACHGOERS ABOUT MINOR FLOODING
ALONG THE COAST THAT DOES NOT MEET ADVISORY CRITERIA.

BELOW ARE LINKS TO EXAMPLES OF THE BHS ISSUED DURING THE TEST
LAST SEASON.

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/BEACHHAZARDS/RESOURCES/SWIMMING.PDF

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/BEACHHAZARDS/RESOURCES/SHOREBREAK.PDF

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/BEACHHAZARDS/RESOURCES/SNEAKER.PDF

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/BEACHHAZARDS/RESOURCES/HAB.PDF

ON THE NWS WATCH, WARNING ADVISORY MAP (HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV),
THE BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IS HIGHLIGHTED IN TURQUOISE AND THE
COASTAL FLOOD STATEMENT IS HIGHLIGHTED IN OLIVE DRAB. USERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK BY USING THE BRIEF SURVEY AND
COMMENT FORM ONLINE AT:

WEATHER.GOV/SURVEY/NWS-SURVEY.PHP?CODE=CHMBHS

FOR INFORMATION ON BEACH HAZARDS SAFETY AND AWARENESS PLEASE
REFER TO THE BEACH HAZARDS AND SAFETY WEBSITE AT:

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BEACHHAZARDS

GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON VTEC CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT:

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OS/VTEC

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE CONTACT:

JEFF ORROCK
METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE
WFO WAKEFIELD, VA
757-899-5730
JEFF.ORROCK@NOAA.GOV

NWS SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT:

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/OS/NOTIF.HTM

$$