NWS La Crosse Open House 2006

Open House 2006

On Thursday September 14th, 2006 the National Weather Service in La Crosse hosted a 5 hour open house - the first since 1999.

The open house was an outstanding success, with nearly 1000 people (961) touring our facility. Our guests had a chance to see and learn about our operations area, our forecast work stations, see a demonstration on how we issue severe weather warnings, tour our radar buildings, and see demonstrations from our various partners.

NWS La Crosse would like to thank everyone who attended, but especially our partners who participated and help us year round:

Local amateur radio operators and clubs
La Crosse County Emergency Management / Dispatch
Olmsted County Emergency Management / Rochester Police Dept.
Newspapers, Radio, and Television stations in the region

A special thanks also to those who donated items:

Kwik Trip
La Crosse Premium Water

Inside Our Facility

Our tour started with an overview of what we do at the National Weather Service. Our guests stopped in our conference room, picked up informational and educational materials, and were able to ask questions of some of our staff members.

Next, guests toured our operations area and viewed demonstrations of our work stations. Brief discussions were given on how we perform our daily duties, create forecasts, issue severe weather warnings, and what tools we use to perform these tasks. In addition, we also demonstrated NOAA Weather Radio, how it is used as a major distribution vehicle of NWS information, and how the computerized voice works and sounds.

The tour then progressed to our computer room where staff members briefed our guests on how information is transmitted and received in our office.

Outside Our Facility

The first stop outside was at our Cooperative Observer and weather monitoring station. Here guests could see the various devices used to measure meteorological phenomena along with information on the Cooperative Obeserver program. A demonstration of a river gage was also displayed.

Next, for those who chose to (14 years and older), there was the rare opportunity to climb our radar tower and see inside the "giant ball" where the radar dish is housed. Many took the 70 foot climb to the top where staff members gave an overview of how our radar operates.

Guests had the opportunity to tour Incident Command Vehicles from both La Crosse County, WI and Olmsted County, MN. Amateur Radio Operators (HAMs) were also on hand hosting a special event station and answering questions concerning how they operate during severe weather.

The last stop was our refreshment and door prize tent complimented by donated cookies (provided by Kwik Trip and staff members) and water (courtesy of La Crosse Premium Water).

Again, the staff of National Weather Service La Crosse would like to thank those that attended our Open House. We appreciate your interest and hope the experience left you with a better understanding of what we do and how we do it.