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-------- Original Message --------
249
NOUS41 KWBC 031155
PNSWSH
Service Change Notice 13-34
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
756 AM EDT Fri May 3 2013
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
-NOAAPORT
Other NWS Partners and NWS Employees
From: Eli Jacks
Chief, Fire and Public Weather Services Branch
Subject: Changes to the Fire Weather Zones in Washington
State, Effective June 6 2013
Effective Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 500 AM Pacific Daylight Time
(PDT), 1200 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the NWS Weather
Forecast Office in Spokane, WA (WFO OTX), will change some
eastern Washington fire weather zone boundaries, names and
numbers. This change supports a more efficient forecast process
and provides NWS partners and users improved fire weather watch,
warning and forecast products.
Historically, fire weather forecast services for the Northern
Columbia Basin (WAZ673) and the Northeast Mountains (WAZ686) have
used two large fire weather zones, resulting in planning
forecasts that are broad and generic. NWS is dividing these two
large zones into three smaller zones more closely aligned with
fire agency dispatch boundaries and climatic regimes. Two of the
new zones (WAZ673, Northern Columbia Basin and WAZ686, Northeast
Mountains) will retain their current zone numbers and names while
changing their zone boundaries. The zone boundary changes have
been determined by WFO OTX not to significantly affect the fire
weather climatology of the existing zones.
Once NWS implements the change, the following Universal
Geographic Code (UGC), zone names, numbers and geographic
descriptions will be used in eastern Washington State.
Table 1: WFO OTX Fire Weather Zones Affected by this Change:
Zone UGC Zone name
------------ ------------
WAZ673 Northern Columbia Basin
This includes all of the land east of the Columbia River at the
Grant and Douglas County line to the Ferry County line, then
southeast through eastern Lincoln County to Whitman and Adams
County, then south along the Whitman County line to the southern
Adams County line.
WAZ686 Northeast Mountains
This includes all of the land from north of the Spokane River to
the Canadian border and east of the Kettle/Columbia River to the
Idaho state border.
WAZ674 Eastern Washington East Columbia Basin
This new zone includes all of the land area south of the Spokane
and Little Spokane Rivers south to the Snake River, east of
eastern Lincoln County and the Whitman County line to the Idaho
border.
Table 2: WFO OTX Fire Weather Products Affected by this Change:
Product Name WMO Header AWIPS ID
____________ __________ ________
Fire Weather FNUS55 KOTX FWFOTX
Planning Forecast
Fire Weather Watch/ WWUS85 KOTX RFWOTX
Red Flag Warning
National Fire FNUS85 KOTX FWMOTX
Danger Rating
System
An updated fire weather zone map shapefile containing the new
zones is online at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/geodata/catalog/wsom/html/firezone.htm
More information on these new fire weather zones is online at:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/otx/firewx/OTX_FZONE_change20130606.php
For more information please contact:
John Livingston
Meteorologist-in-Charge
NWS Spokane
Spokane, WA, 99224
916-979-3041
John.Livingston@xxxxxxxx
National Service Change Notices are online at:
http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
$$
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