National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Rain Providing Some Relief to Drought-Stricken Southern U.S.

A storm tracking across the southern U.S. will continue to bring areas of heavy thunderstorms with risks for severe weather and excessive rainfall from Texas to Florida through this weekend. While much of this rainfall will be beneficial to the drought, excessive rainfall may bring areas of flash and urban flooding. Read More >

Rick Smith
Warning Coordination Meteorologist


Rick Smith is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Norman Forecast Office. He manages NWS Norman’s hazardous weather preparedness, outreach and education activities for the office’s 56 county area of responsibility. Rick and the NWS Norman staff work closely with the media, emergency managers and other state, county, tribal and local government officials to ensure that communities in central and western Oklahoma and western north Texas are ready when hazardous weather threatens.

Rick has been a meteorologist with the National Weather Service since 1992, working at offices in Memphis, Tennessee, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas before coming to Norman in 2002.