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| About This Page |
| The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in North Little Rock takes a lot of pride in its work and what it has accomplished. |
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There is a team of 21 dedicated employees and volunteers that keep an eye on the sky, collect data, keep the equipment running, and interact with people on the outside. Yes, there is much more than just forecasting the weather. It is about serving and taking care of the many needs of Arkansans. So let's meet the employees that make it all happen...
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| Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC)...Jimmy Barham
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This individual oversees the office operations, and makes sure everything runs smoothly. This involves interacting with other managers at the office to get a feel for what is needed to better serve the citizens of Arkansas. The MIC also handles new hires and evaluates the performance of staff members. Email the MIC
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| Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM)...Dennis Cavanaugh
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This individual is in-charge of the warning program at the office (i.e. warning information that is sent to the public, verification of warnings, formatting warning information for "Storm Data" publication). This includes working with emergency managers in 47 counties across Arkansas to help create a plan of action when warnings are issued. The WCM is also the public relations leader (communicates with county officials, schools, the media, etc), and arranges outreach activities such as weather briefings and Storm Spotters courses (for upcoming classes, click here). Email the WCM
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| Science and Operations Officer (SOO)...Christopher Buonanno
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The Science and Operations Officer (SOO) works to integrate the latest advances in the science of meteorology, as well as technology innovations, into everyday office operations. This individual handles technical issues at the office, including the development or request of training materials and utilizing computer equipment/software to improve or enhance forecasts/warnings issued by forecasters. The SOO also organizes training seminars and helps write (or offers suggestions on how to write) meteorological research papers for publication. Email the SOO
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| Observations Program Leader (OPL)...Sean Clarke
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This individual oversees data retrieval at the office. The data includes meteorological and hydrological observations sent in manually or by gauges. The OPL oversees the Cooperative Observer Program at the office, which is a network of dedicated individuals mostly in rural areas that send the weather service temperature, precipitation and river information on a daily basis. Email the OPL
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| Information Technology Officer (ITO)...Daniel J. Koch
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This individual writes and implements computer programs and troubleshoots existing programs. The ITO also analyzes current systems in order to find where improvements could be made. The improvements are related to product generation (i.e. making forecast products easier to produce and more useful to the public) and dissemination. Email the ITO
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| Service Hydrologist...Tabitha Clarke
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This individual is in-charge of hydrological operations at the office. This includes maintaining information (i.e. flood stages, degrees of flooding at various stages, etc) about rivers and streams in Arkansas, issuing products such as flood forecasts/river flood warnings, and keeping track of rainfall/soil conditions. Email Service Hydrologist
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| Senior Forecaster
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This individual is the shift supervisor [there are 3 shifts: day (6a to 3p), evening (2pm to 11p), and midnight (10p to 7a)] in the forecast area. The senior forecaster routinely issues public/aviation forecasts, works the radar in severe weather when necessary, interacts with the public on social media/outreach activities, and launches weather balloons (to measure temperature, wind, and humidity aloft). This person makes sure that weather service products such as forecasts and warnings are issued in a timely fashion, and makes shift decisions, assigns duties, logs equipment outages, and keeps a log of events. There are 6 senior forecasters:
| Willie Gilmore |
John A. Lewis III |
| Joseph Goudsward |
Lance Pyle |
| Jeff Hood |
Chuck Rickard |
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| Meteorologist/Forecaster
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This individual is very much like the senior forecaster (issues public/aviation forecasts, works the radar, launches weather balloons, and participates in social media/outreach activities), but without a routine supervisory role. The meteorologist/forecaster also engages in career development projects (such as writing meteorological papers and building leadership skills) to become more well rounded. There are 5 meteorologists/forecasters:
| Justin Condry |
Thomas Jones |
| Erik Green |
Colby Pope |
| Travis Shelton |
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| Electronics Technician (ET)
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This individual is mostly involved with maintaining systems inside and outside the office. This includes computer equipment, NOAA Weather Radio, the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar), and ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System). There are 2 ETs:
| Jacob Wakefield |
Donald White |
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| Student Intern/Volunteer
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This individual, usually a college student in a meteorology program or high school student, is given the opportunity to work in a professional setting at the weather service. The student intern/volunteer gets a taste of most weather service operations, and helps out where needed. The idea is to broaden the learning experience outside the classroom, and to explore career ideas before school has ended. Due mainly to COVID restrictions, there are no student volunteers.
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