The 2010 Dallas County SKYWARN school will be held on 20FEB10 at the Granville Arts Center in Garland, TX.  The course will begin at 8:00 AM and conclude late afternoon.  

The attached presentation document will be used during the 02AUG09 Dallas County training net.

From: William Bunting
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:42 PM
Subject: Farewell Luncheon for Gary Woodall

Hello,

As you may already know, Gary Woodall, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the For Worth/Dallas National Weather Service Office, is moving to Phoenix, AZ as the new Meteorologist-In-Charge of that office.  We will have a luncheon at noon on Wednesday, July 8th, to thank Gary for his many accomplishments here and to say farewell.  The luncheon will be at Los Vaqueros restaurant in the Stockyards in Fort Worth, 2629 North Main Street (ph. no. 817-624-1511).  The cost is $19 for a Combination (beef and chicken) Fajitas Dinner with Cheese Enchilada, and includes a (non-alcoholic) drink, tax, and gratuity.  I have attached a flyer in Adobe pdf format with this information in case you would like to post the announcement.

If you plan to make the luncheon, checks are the preferred method of payment and you can either mail us a check or bring it with you on the 8th.  Checks can be made payable to Los Vaqueros.  Please RSVP by Monday, July 6th so I can give an accurate count to the restaurant. We hope to see you on the 8th.  Please contact Millie Gutierrez or myself at (817) 831-1157 if we can provide additional information.

Bill Bunting

From: mstephens@co.collin.tx.us [mailto:mstephens@co.collin.tx.us]
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 3:56 PM
Subject: 30-50 Volunteers needed to assist with the Celina Balloon Festival!

The city of Celina is looking for additional help with their Hot Air Balloon Festival on Thursday, June 25th from 6:00pm-8:00pm, Friday, June 26th  from 6:00am-9:00pm and Saturday June 27th, from 6:00am-9:00pm. They are looking for both male and female volunteers to help hold the lines of the hot air balloons and to help people  in and out of the balloon baskets. You can volunteer for just a few hours or longer if you wish! Please see the additional information below:

"Arts and crafts and food vendors  as well as performers, will be in  attendance at the Old Celina Park for the 2009 Balloon Festival. The Cannonball Cloggers, is a group of about 30 clog dancers of all ages, that will make a return visit to the festival this year.  Local country and western singer, Stewart Freeny, will also be performing.  He is  an officer of the Landmark Bank in Gunter and a member of the Celina Chamber of Commerce. The Trailway to Heaven Cowboy Church band will also play at the festival.

New this year, will be the tethered balloon rides. For $10 people can go up in a balloon that remains tethered to the ground, by long ropes.

However, please remember that anything to do with hot air balloons is dependent on the weather!"
Penny Rathburn, Staff writer, Celina Record

If you are interested in helping out at this event, please conatct me as soon as possible.

Thanks for all you do!
Maria

Maria Stephens, RN, BSN
Bioterrorism Planner/Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator
Collin County Department of Homeland Security
4300 Community Avenue
McKinney, TX 75071
972-548-5539 (Office)
972-548-4747 (Fax)

From: Gary Woodall
Subject: NWS Partners Expo - July 1

Greetings -

You are cordially invited to the National Weather Service's Partners Expo on Wednesday, July 1. The event will be held at the Fort Worth National Weather Service facility, located at 3401 Northern Cross Blvd.  This will be an "open house" for our media, emergency management, and response partners, and for our important stakeholders. The Expo will run from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, however, it will be a "come and go" style event.

During the Expo, we will provide tours of the north Texas Weather Forecast Office and the West Gulf River Forecast Center. We will conduct briefings describing the weather and water forecasting operations undertaken at our facility. You will have an opportunity to visit with staff members and to see the forecasting process in action. I believe you will appreciate the
enhancements in warning and forecast services we are providing to citizens in our area.

If your schedule permits, we would be delighted if you could join us on July 1. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to me by June 22. If possible, for our planning purposes, please let us know the approximate time frame (mid morning, early afternoon, etc.) when you plan to attend.  We will send detailed directions and parking instructions to the RSVP list approximately 1 week before the event.

We look forward to visiting with you at the Partners Expo.

Regards,
Gary W.

It's that time of year again, we alternate between days of strong South winds bringing in Gulf moisture and strong North winds bringing Arctic chill.  Garland puts on their annual SKYWARN school at the Granville Arts center.  And the yearly release of the Cloud Cowboy Reference Manual occurs.  Honestly, not many changes this year.  Resource typing changes are probably the biggest portion.  As always there are corrections and minor edits for clarification spread throughout.

To pick up the latest version of the CCRM visit here.

Finally, thank you, the operator in the field who commit your time, your effort, your money, and your experienced eyes and ears to ensuring the safety of your communities.  The Cloud Cowboy Reference Manual exists to help you with the clear, concise sources of information you need when spotting or other emergency operations.

73 de N5NPL

K5LD

Hello All -

As you know, the 2009 severe weather season is not far off. In preparation, below is the announcement for the 2009 Dallas County Severe Weather Seminar. Please help us in spreading word about this important program through the county. You will notice that we have tightened the agenda up a bit, including moving the start time back to 9:00. In addition, we will approach the morning and afternoon as "stand-alone" sessions, emphasizing that attendees need not spend the entire day with us (although it's certainly desired).

Thanks for your help with the advertising and promotion! If you have any questions, please contact me.

Regards,
Gary W.

#####

SEVERE WEATHER SEMINAR SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 21

The 2008 storm season in north Texas was one of the more violent in recent history. Thirty four tornadoes were reported across the area, and destructive windstorms, large hail, and  deadly flooding all made appearances in our area. The toll on life and property was significant, with many casualties and damage in the tens of millions of dollars.
 
The 2009 severe weather season is fast approaching. Are you ready for whatever this year has in store? Do you have a severe weather plan at your home and your workplace? Can you recognize the clues that suggest large hail, flash flooding, or a tornado is possible? Do you want to become part of the severe weather warning system in Dallas County?

In partnership with numerous emergency agencies across the county and with KDFW Fox 4, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Fort Worth will conduct the annual Dallas County Severe Weather Seminar on Saturday, February 21, at the Granville Arts Center, 330 N 5th St. in Garland. The basic session will run from 9:00 AM to noon, and the advanced session
will begin at 1:30 PM and end at 3:45 PM. Registration will start at approximately 8:00 AM.

"Some of the feedback we received indicated that people didn't want to commit a full day to the programs", said Gary Woodall, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS in Fort Worth. "This year, we're running the morning and afternoon sessions as stand-alone programs. Folks are invited to attend as much or as little of the program as they want".

The program will kick off with a review of severe weather safety tips and severe weather operations at the National Weather Service. The basic/intermediate storm spotter presentation will be next. This presentation will emphasize thunderstorm formation, severe weather production, and visual clues associated with severe storms. A presentation from the Fox 4 Weather Team will conclude the morning session.

The afternoon presentations will feature advanced training. Amateur radio spotter operations at the National Weather Service will be discussed. Gary Woodall will conclude the afternoon session with a presentation on advanced storm concepts. This session will focus on severe storm environments, theories of severe weather production and tornado formation, and storm evolution.

"Storm spotters play a valuable role in the severe weather warning process", Woodall said. "We take the spotters' observations and combine them with the data from our Doppler radar. This combination gives us the best possible picture of the storms and what's going on inside them".

In addition to the formal presentations, the seminar will feature a variety of exhibits and displays from agencies across the county. Attendees will be able to talk with local experts and obtain information on family preparedness, amateur radio, and emergency response teams.

The seminar is free, and members of the public are welcome to attend. "If you come to this program, you will learn a lot about thunderstorms", Woodall said. "Even if you never become an active storm spotter, you will learn about how storms work and visual clues to utilize when storms are in the area. We will also discuss safety tips to keep in mind before and during severe weather season. You'll learn how to monitor the communications between the storm spotters and the National Weather Service. You will be better prepared for the next time Tarrant County is visited by severe storms".

The Dallas County severe weather program is one of over 40 that the Fort Worth NWS Office will conduct between January and April 2008. However, this is one of only a few "in-depth" seminars which will be presented. For more information on severe weather and the National Weather Service, visit the Fort Worth Forecast Office's website at www.weather.gov/fortworth.

DALLAS COUNTY SEVERE WEATHER SEMINAR AGENDA

BASIC SESSIONS



ADVANCED SESSIONS