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Operational Weather Squadron picks up new responsibilities

  • Published
  • By Ryan Hansen
  • AFWA Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  The 15th Operational Weather Squadron at Scott will assume short-term back-up responsibilities for the National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center and Storm Prediction Center April 1. 

The AWC provides aviation warnings and forecasts of hazardous flight conditions at all levels within domestic and international air space while SPC provides tornado and severe weather watches along with a series of hazardous weather forecasts for the contiguous United States. 

In the event of an outage at either center, the 15th OWS will take over responsibility for portions of each of these missions until they are fully operational again. 

"We are looking forward to this new task," said Maj. Hugh Freestrom, 15th OWS flight commander, who is leading the effort for the squadron. "However, the squadron should not see huge changes to procedures." 

Come April the squadron must be able to produce weather advisories, forecasts and warnings for all air traffic within the continental United States in support of AWC. This includes hazardous weather due to thunderstorms, turbulence or icing, Instrument Flight Rule conditions, dust, sand or volcanic ash over a 3,000-square-mile area. 

The squadron must also be able to provide forecasts for SPC that identify the threat of severe storms for the next one-to-three days as well as issuing severe weather watch boxes, which are basically an early head's up that favorable conditions exist for the development of severe weather. 

"Although these new responsibilities will be a formidable challenge, our forecasters are well prepared to succeed," Major Freestrom said. "We currently forecast severe weather and produce aviation weather products for more than 40 percent of the total force units in the continental U.S." 

To assist with these additional responsibilities, the squadron will have access to the National Automated Weather Information Processing System, or N-AWIPS, from the National Centers for Environmental Protection. Information from this system will be used as a backup source for limited NCEP data during an outage. 

"The access to N-AWIPS is really the most important part of our new responsibilities; without it, we wouldn't be able to provide backup support," said Maj. Scott Lisko, 15th OWS systems and training flight commander, who is handling all communications and training for the new tasking. "The computer hardware and software used to perform the AWC and SPC missions is different from the hardware and software we use for our regular, day-to-day Air Force weather mission." 

Trainers and information technology representatives from AWC and SPC will visit the squadron over the next few months to help with the transition. 

"The IT people will be working with 15th OWS communications personnel to configure the routers and servers in our data center to ingest National Weather Service data and they will also be setting up and configuring the actual workstations our forecasters will be using to conduct the backup support," Major Lisko said. "The AWC and SPC training personnel will be working closely with our 15th OWS trainers to develop the courses and curriculum the 15th will be using to train the forecasters to provide the back-up support." 

After assuming the back-up duties April 1, the squadron will continue to have ongoing training and hold quarterly exercises to ensure it is ready in the event of an outage. 

"We're planning two visits a year each way," Major Lisko said. "We'll have the AWC and SPC trainers visit us twice a year and we'll send 15th OWS trainers to AWC and SPC twice a year to stay abreast of any changes or updates to their forecast methods and procedures. 

"In addition, we will be exercising the back-up support quarterly to make sure our forecasters stay proficient on how to do the job," he added. "One facet of this agreement we're excited about is the sharing of forecasting concepts between Air Force weather and the National Weather Service. By working together on the AWC and SPC support, we'll start to cross-feed ideas and techniques with each other, helping both of us." 

Adding these additional responsibilities to the 15th OWS' mission is something the squadron's members are certainly looking forward to. 

"Being tapped for these new responsibilities is good for (the squadron) and for our government as a whole," said Lt. Col. Gary Kubat, 15th OWS commander. "Our forecasters are quite capable of providing the types of backup products needed by the National Weather Service and it enables (them) to provide better service to America. 

"It's also good for our military weather forecasters because of the increased dialogue and knowledge sharing occurring to make this happen," he continued. "Ultimately there may be some techniques and skills learned from this exchange that translate to better combat support for our military forces, so this is a great opportunity - definitely a win-win situation." 

The backup responsibilities for AWC and SPC are currently handled by the Air Force Weather Agency at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.