National Weather Service Creates New Office Devoted to Water Prediction

In recognizing the vast and evolving water needs for millions of Americans, NOAA’s National Weather Service this week created a new office dedicated to understanding and predicting water dynamics, effective immediately. The new Office of Water Prediction is comprised of staff at the National Weather Service headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., the snow analysis/remote sensing center in Chanhassen, Minn., and the National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The new Office of Water Prediction will improve the National Weather Service’s ability to support local, state and federal agency efforts to manage water resources and plan for flooding and drought. River forecasting and local flash flood forecasting and warning remains the responsibility of the National Weather Service’s river forecast centers and weather forecast offices, located throughout the country.

Also announced is the selection of Tom Graziano, Ph.D., as director of the Office of Water Prediction. Graziano’s career at the National Weather Service spans decades of service to evolving the agency’s understanding and predictive capability of water. He helped build the earliest plans, policies and procedures governing the National Weather Service’s water warning and forecast operations. In the 1990s, he helped develop the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, a visual web-based depiction of flood threats and forecasts in the United States which helped communities throughout the country better prepare for floods and droughts. Recently, Graziano helped establish a consortium of agencies to assist in the sharing of information and resources for the common goal of better water prediction for the United States.

The National Weather Service is in the process of hiring a deputy director for the Office of Water Prediction, who will also serve as the director of the National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.