Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS National HQ
Issued by NWS National HQ
960 NOUS41 KWBC 161700 PNSWSH Service Change Notice 24-42 National Weather Service Headquarters Silver Spring MD 100 PM EDT Tue Apr 16 2024 To: Subscribers: -NOAA Weather Wire Service -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network -NOAAPort Other NWS Partners, Users and Employees From: Marina Timofeyeva, Chief Climate Services Branch Subject: The Rapid Onset Drought Hazard Type Within the 8- to 14-Day Hazards Outlook (Contiguous U.S. and Alaska) Will Transition to Operational Status, Effective May 16, 2024 Effective May 16, 2024, the Rapid Onset Drought hazard type within the 8- to 14-Day Hazards Outlook (Contiguous U.S. and Alaska) will transition from experimental to operational status. The Rapid Onset Drought hazard type uses initial conditions, such as antecedent dryness, and skillful temperature and precipitation outlooks during the next 2 weeks to communicate the risk of rapidly developing drought during the next 2-4 weeks. Following positive feedback received in 2022 and 2023, Rapid Onset Drought areas will continue to be identified and updated once per week on Thursday, coinciding with the issuance of the U.S. Drought Monitor that serves as the basis for subsequent verification. Interim updates to the areas of Rapid Onset Drought will occur only to ensure consistent messaging in the case of a large change in forecast information; such updates will only be made on Mondays. Please see the NWS Product Description Document (PDD) for more details: https://nsdesk.servicenowservices.com/api/g_noa/nwspc/res2/6edd09201b 68c61 0ee15a7dbe54bcbc9 The CPC issues the Week-2 U.S. Hazards Outlook at the following website, which also includes links to Geographic Information System (GIS) data files: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/threats/threats.ph p When included in the Week-2 U.S. Hazards Outlook, Rapid Onset Drought areas will be included in the current soils ArcGIS shapefile. For questions or comments regarding this product, please contact: Jon Gottschalck Chief, Operational Prediction Branch NWS NCEP - Climate Prediction Center College Park, MD jon.gottschalck@noaa.gov National Service Change Notices are online at: https://www.weather.gov/notification