The National Weather Service Boise office. | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | July 1, 1877 |
Preceding agencies |
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Jurisdiction | Federal Government of the United States |
Headquarters | 3833 South Development Avenue #3807 Boise, Idaho 83705 43°34′2.27″N116°12′41.38″W / 43.5672972°N 116.2114944°W |
Employees | 25 |
Agency executives |
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Parent agency | National Weather Service |
Website | www |
Footnotes | |
First weather observation in Boise, Idaho was taken at Fort Boise on February 1, 1864 . [1] |
The National Weather Service Boise, Idaho is a weather forecast office responsible for weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather forecasts and fire weather forecasts for 3 counties in Southeast Oregon and 14 counties in Southwest and South central Idaho. The U.S. Weather Bureau established an office in the Sonna Building on December 1, 1898. Since then, the U.S Weather Bureau office, now known as the National Weather Service forecast office gained forecast responsibility of Southern Idaho on June 22, 1970 which was expanded to the entire state of Idaho in 1973. After modernization in 1993, the forecast responsibility was changed to Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho. The current office in Boise maintains a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system, 8 Automated airport weather station (ASOS) systems and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. Continuous weather observations have been maintained for the city of Boise since February 1, 1864 about 5 months after the U.S. Army established Fort Boise. The post surgeon for the U.S. Army took observations until July 1, 1877 when the U.S. Signal Service, established an office downtown. The Signal Office was discontinued on July 1, 1890.
The first meteorological observations of high and low temperature and daily precipitation began at Fort Boise's Post Hospital on February 1, 1864 about 7 months after the fort was established by Major Pinkney Lugenbeel. Doctor Adam H. Cochrane, [2] born in Paisley, Scotland, was the first post surgeon at the Fort and is believed to have taken the first weather observation. [1] The observations were taken 3 times a day, 7 A.M., 2 P.M., and 7 P.M., at the post hospital built in 1863. Though the thermometers were sheltered, self registering thermometers were not installed until January 1872. Post surgeons and hospital stewards took continuous daily weather observations through November 30, 1898. The post surgeon was required to take weather observations as it was believed there was a possible link between human disease and weather. This prompted the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, Doctor James Tilton to order U.S. Army senior medical officers on 2 May 1814 to “keep a diary of the weather” at each military station. [3] The Fort was later renamed the Boise Barracks.
Former Idaho Territory Governor and former U.S. House of Representative Thomas W. Bennett made an application to the U.S. Army's Signal Service to establish stations at Boise on February 9, 1876. [4] On May 21, 1877, the application was granted and Sergeant Barnet E. Light [5] was order per S. O. No. 62 to establish a station by July 1877. [4] On June 22, 1877, the station was established on the second floor of the Overland Hotel on the northwest corner of 8th and Main Street. [6] Weather observations began at the station on July 1, 1977. The station was moved to a third story addition to the Hotel shortly after Hosea Eastman bought it in 1878. The station was moved twice, next door to the Davis building in September 1880 and the Perrault Building on the southeast corner of Capital and Main Streets in January 1888. The weather instruments were on the roof except for the thermometers which were in a window shelter from 1877 to 1885. The thermometers placed in a Cotton region shelter on December 1, 1885. A lack of funding and Chief Signal Officer Adolphus Greely opening of a new station in Baker City, Oregon lead to the closure of the Boise station on June 30, 1890. Greenly felt the Baker City Station would be more valuable than the Boise station which was not supported by his forecasters in Washington. [7] Barnet Light, James Kenealy, Henry Boynton and William Korts were the only four observers during the stations 13 years in Boise. [1]
George L. Shoup, the first Governor and Senator of Idaho, began discussing with the Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau Willis L. Moore on establishing an office in Boise, Idaho in 1897. Both Chief Moore and the Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson supported the establishment of an office in Boise, Idaho which was added to the budget. [8] The office was scheduled to be open in August 1898 but was delayed due to the U.S. Weather Bureau's expansion into the West Indies. [9] On 29 September 1898, the Chief Moore sent the following order:
“Mr. Samuel M. Blandford will proceed from Salt Lake City, Utah to Boise, Idaho, to establish and assume charge of a Weather Bureau station at the latter point.” [10]
Samuel Blandford was an experienced meteorologist and lawyer who worked at several Weather Bureau offices across the United States mostly in the west. [1] He began his career with the U.S. Signal Service and worked at the station in New York City during the Great Blizzard of 1888 which he believed eventually gave him tuberculosis. [11] He was the nephew of Dr. Samuel Mudd. [11]
The office was opened on the third floor of the Sonna Building on the corner of 9th and Main Street on December 1, 1898. Blandford had two assistants, John C. Dabney and Charles C. Garrett [12] who help take observation and post the forecasts.
The office moved to the fourth floor of the U.S. Federal Building now known as the U.S. Public Building on March 16, 1905. [13] The building was expanded in the late 1920s and the U.S. Weather Bureau moved to the fourth floor of the new annex on November 13, 1930. [1] In additions to the regular surface observations of temperature, precipitation and wind, the office started taking PIBAL observations from the roof of the building. [14]
A U.S. Weather Bureau Airport Station was established at the downtown Boise Airport, now the campus of Boise State University, on May 11, 1933 which is only about a 1-mile south of the U.S. Federal Building. [14] Weather observations had been taken from the airport by the Bureau of Air Commerce personal since October 18, 1931. From July 1, 1939 to December 18, 1939, while the U.S. Weather Bureau office was moved to the airport at Gowen Field, official weather observations and one PIBAL flight a day were taken at the old airport. [1]
The U.S. Weather Bureau office was moved to 2nd floor of the original Boise Air Terminal Building at Gowen Field on December 19, 1939. [1] All operations at the U.S. Federal building and the old Boise Airport were transferred to the new office by February 20, 1940. [15] In addition to the surface weather observations of temperature, precipitation and wind, Radiosonde observations which began September 1, 1939 at the downtown airport, were moved to a small building north of the Boise terminal building at Gowen Field in 1940. [16] A new balloon inflation building was built east of the terminal in October 1954 with a dome on top to hold the signal receiving equipment. [17] The building was moved to the NIFC campus in August 1969 where it is still being used today. [1] The temperatures and precipitation were taken near the airport terminal building through 1969 though they were moved periodically to accommodate the growing airport. The wind instrument was moved several times through 1969 from the top of the United Hangar to the top of the terminal building to field northwest of the runway. The office remained on the 2nd floor of the terminal building until June 1969.
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), was created in 1965 as a way for the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Weather Bureau to work together, reduce the duplication of services, and coordinate national fire planning and operations. [18] The U.S. Weather Bureau office was moved to the second floor of the old administration building on June 5, 1969. The U.S. Weather Bureau made the Boise office its “hub of fire weather activities” in the west where fire weather specialists are able to make face to face contact with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management fire dispatchers. [19] U.S. Congress approved the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) requested for $316,000 in additional funds in the fiscal year 1970 budget in July 1969 for the Boise, Idaho, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and for bringing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma up to full Weather Service Forecast Office (WSFO) status. [20] On June 22, 1970, the Boise Forecast Office began issuing official weather forecasts for Idaho south of the Salmon River. [19] The U.S. Weather Bureau changed their name to the National Weather Service on October 1, 1970.
The Boise office, which was already a forecast office for the state of Idaho, and Pocatello, Idaho were selected for modernization in the state of Idaho in the early 1990s. On May 20, 1992, the National Weather Service broke ground on the first weather service specific building in Idaho. [1] Construction on the building was completed on June 24, 1993 and the office was officially opened on July 21, 1993. As part of the modernization plan, new weather forecast offices were built, computer systems upgraded and weather radars were installed across the country. The first weather radar in Idaho, WSR-88D, was installed in Boise, just south of the airport, on September 23, 1993 and officially commissioned on January 11, 1995. This was the 47th Doppler weather radar installed in a new national network known as "NEXRAD". Idaho has two such radars, one in Boise, Idaho (KCBX) and the other in Pocatello, Idaho (KSFX). The National Weather Service continues to operate from this building today.
The U.S. Weather Bureau operated four airway stations, at Burns, Oregon, Baker City, Oregon, Ontario, Oregon and Weiser, Idaho in the 1930s and 1940s. The Burns station became a U.S. Weather Bureau Airways station on December 13, 1930 and later a U.S. Weather Bureau office on September 1, 1940. [21] Observations continued in the city until February 15, 1980 when the office was moved to the Burns Airport. The office was closed after the Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) was installed on July 1, 1995. The U.S. Signal Service closed the station in Boise, Idaho to establish a station in Baker city, Oregon on July 10, 1889 which remained in operation until May 14, 1953. [22] The U.S. Weather Bureau opened an Airways station at the Baker City Airport north of the city on March 29, 1939 which was closed on February 10, 1949. Observations were continued by the FAA until the ASOS system was installed in October 2001. A U.S. Weather Bureau Airways Station was established at Weiser Airport on July 4, 1932 but was moved to the Ontario Municipal Airport on October 25, 1938. [23] [24] The airways station in Ontario was only in operation until December 4, 1946. [24] Observations were continued at the airport by the airlines until the ASOS system installed in April 1997. U.S Weather Bureau opened an Agricultural Service Office east of Twin Falls, Idaho in Kimberly, Idaho on April 19, 1962. [25] The National Weather Service made it a Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) station for the USDA Agricultural Service on May 1, 1996. An ASOS station was installed at the Magic Valley Regional Airport south of Twin Falls, Idaho on January 28, 1997.
WFO Boise operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides weather forecasts, warnings, aviation forecast and local statements for Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho. There is one WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar upgraded to dual polarization on August 30, 2012 improving the accuracy and identification of precipitation types and precipitation estimates. [26] The office is also equipped with an Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS II) that greatly increases monitoring capabilities of weather, satellite, and computer model data by forecasters. The office also maintains eight Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) around the area. NWS Boise employs 18 meteorologist of which two are dedicated Fire Weather Forecasters and Incident Meteorologists and one hydrologist. There are also 7 support staff members that provide technical, administrative and IT support.
The National Weather Service Boise, Idaho provides weather forecasts, warnings and local statements for 3 counties in Southeast Oregon and 14 counties in Southwest and South central Idaho.
The Boise Office issues aviation forecasts for the following eight regional airports:
The Boise Weather Forecast Office maintains five NOAA Weather Radio transmitters across southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon. They transmit routine extended and specialized short-term forecasts, current weather observations, hazardous weather outlooks and historical weather information. [27] Each of the transmitters, through the Emergency Alert System, also disseminate watches, warnings and advisories issued by the NWS office, severe thunderstorm and tornado watches issued by the Storm Prediction Center and other emergency information to the public.
City of license | Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | Power (W) |
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Boise | WXK68 [28] | 162.55 MHz | 300 W |
McCall | WWF58 [29] | 162.475 MHz | 100 W |
Payette | WXK88 [30] | 162.40 MHz | 100 W |
Twin Falls | WXL35 [31] | 162.40 MHz | 300 W |
Burns | KHB30 [32] | 162.475 MHz | 300 W |
The office issues daily climate reports for eight locations. [33]
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the purposes of protection, safety, and general information. It is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the Department of Commerce, and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, within the Washington metropolitan area. The agency was known as the United States Weather Bureau from 1890 until it adopted its current name in 1970.
NEXRAD or Nexrad is a network of 159 high-resolution S-band Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the United States Department of Commerce, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Air Force within the Department of Defense. Its technical name is WSR-88D.
WSR-74 radars were Weather Surveillance Radars designed in 1974 for the National Weather Service. They were added to the existing network of the WSR-57 model to improve forecasts and severe weather warnings. Some have been sold to other countries like Australia, Greece, and Pakistan.
WSR-57 radars were the primary weather surveillance radar used by the United States for over 35 years. The National Weather Service operated a network of this model radar across the country, watching for severe weather.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather research laboratory under the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs).
The Warning Decision Training Division (WDTD), known as the Warning Decision Training Branch until April 1, 2015, is one of three training organizations in the NWS Training Division which also includes the Forecast Decision Training Branch and the NWS Training Center. WDTD develops and delivers training on the integrated elements of the warning process within a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office. WDTD instructors develop and deliver a variety of in-residence, teletraining, and on-line asynchronous training content.
National Weather Service Lincoln, Illinois also known as National Weather Service Central Illinois is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 35 counties in Central and Southeastern Illinois. The Central Illinois office initially consisted of two forecast offices in Peoria and Springfield until the current location in Lincoln became the sole local forecast office in 1995. Federal meteorology offices and stations in the region date back to the 19th century when the Army Signal Service began taking weather observations using weather equipment at the Springer Building in Springfield. Since that time the presence of the National Weather Service greatly increased with the installation of new weather radars, stations and forecast offices. The current office in Lincoln maintains a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system, and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. Lincoln is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather.
National Weather Service Chicago, currently based in Romeoville, Illinois, is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 23 counties in Northern Illinois, the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The Army Signal Service established the first federal weather office in the region in Chicago on October 15, 1870. During May 1894 the Chicago Weather Bureau was given a new forecast area extending from the Great Lakes region all the way to the Rocky Mountains. The current National Weather Service Chicago is located in Romeoville and is in charge of issuing local forecasts and weather warnings for the Chicago area. It is one of only two National Weather Service offices in Illinois, the other being National Weather Service Central Illinois in Lincoln, Illinois. The National Weather Service Chicago forecast office is located adjacent to the Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, Illinois.
National Weather Service Paducah is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 58 counties in the states of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. The Paducah office is relatively new compared to others, having been built in 1984. The office is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather. It is also equipped with a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar, and an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) that greatly increase the ability to forecast.
The National Weather Service Miami, Florida is a local weather forecast office of the National Weather Service (NWS) that serves six counties in South Florida – Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach – as well as the mainland portion of Monroe County. This office was originally established in 1879 as a Signal Corps station near the Jupiter Inlet Light, before becoming a Weather Bureau Office (WBO) in 1891. The WBO at Jupiter was moved southward to Miami in 1911, due to the city's rapidly growing population. In 1930, a separate Weather Bureau Airport Station (WBAS) was established at the Miami Municipal Airport. The WBAS was later moved to the Miami International Airport in 1942 and remained there until ceasing operations in 1975.
National Weather Service - North Little Rock, AR, also known as National Weather Service - Little Rock, AR, is a local weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 47 of Arkansas's 75 counties, excluding 7 counties in Northwestern Arkansas, 9 counties in Southwestern and South Central Arkansas, Ashley and Chicot counties in Extreme Southeastern Arkansas, and 14 counties in Eastern Arkansas. Those counties are monitored by the Weather Service offices in Tulsa, Shreveport, Jackson (MS), and Memphis respectively. The current office in North Little Rock maintains a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. North Little Rock is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather. The name of the Doppler weather radar (WSR-88D) code used by this office is LZK. The National Weather Service at North Little Rock, Arkansas programs 12 NOAA Weather Radio transmitters across Arkansas, with 25 transmitters statewide.
National Weather Service - Tulsa, Oklahoma (TSA) is a local weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 7 counties in Northwestern Arkansas, and 25 counties in Eastern Oklahoma. The current office in Tulsa maintains a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar system, and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) that greatly improve forecasting in the region. Tulsa is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather and NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts in its service area. The office operates two Doppler weather radars, one in Tulsa (INX), and the other in Fort Smith, Arkansas (SRX). Steve Piltz is the Meteorologist-In-Charge (MIC) of this office.
The National Weather Service Amarillo, Texas, is a weather forecast office that serves 23 counties in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles by providing weather forecasts for the many communities it serves as well as airports in Guymon, Dalhart, and Amarillo. The office was established on January 1, 1892, only 5 years after the city of Amarillo was founded. The office operates a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar and a number of ASOS sensor suites in order to monitor the latest weather conditions. An AWIPS system is used by the office to produce forecasts, warnings, and advisories.
National Weather Service - Norman, Oklahoma is a Weather Forecast Office (WFO) of the National Weather Service based in Norman, Oklahoma, which is responsible for forecasts and the dissemination of weather warnings and advisories for central and most of western Oklahoma, and western portions of north Texas. It is located in the National Weather Center on the University of Oklahoma campus, where it acts as one of the NOAA Weather Partners, a group of close-together weather-related agencies of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NWS Norman is currently overseen by Mark Fox, who serves as the Meteorologist In Charge of the office.
National Weather Service Jackson, based in Jackson, Kentucky, is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 33 counties in Eastern Kentucky. The National Weather Service chose to put a weather forecast office (WFO) in eastern Kentucky due to the flooding of April 2-5, 1977. The National Weather Service Jackson, Kentucky has been forecasting for portions of Eastern Kentucky since 1981.
National Weather Service - Pleasant Hill/Kansas City, Missouri is a Weather Forecast Office (WFO) of the National Weather Service, which is responsible for forecasts and the dissemination of weather warnings and advisories for 37 counties in northern and western Missouri and seven counties in extreme eastern Kansas, including the Kansas City and St. Joseph metropolitan areas. Though, as the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma is responsible for issuing severe thunderstorm and tornado watches, the Pleasant Hill/Kansas City WFO only composes outline and status updates for SPC-issued watches affecting any portion of its designated County Warning Area.
National Weather Service Nashville is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 38 counties in Middle Tennessee. The office is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings, and local statements as well as aviation weather. It is equipped with a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar and an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) that greatly increases the ability to forecast. While it is officially the Nashville forecast office, the WFO is technically located in Wilson County near Old Hickory, Tennessee, along the shoreline of Old Hickory Lake near the Davidson/Wilson County line.
National Weather Service Louisville is a weather forecast office responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 49 counties in north-central, south-central, and east-central Kentucky and 10 counties in southern Indiana. The office is in charge of weather forecasts, warnings and local statements as well as aviation weather. It is also equipped with a WSR-88D (NEXRAD) radar, and an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) that greatly increase the ability to forecast. The NEXRAD radar site utilized by the forecast office is located near West Point, Kentucky on the north side of the Fort Knox Military Reservation.
The National Weather Service Raleigh, North Carolina (RAH) is a local Weather Forecast Office for central North Carolina. The NWS in Raleigh serves 31 counties in NC and these 31 counties have a population of 7.74 million people, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Fayetteville, North Carolina.