|
|
|
|
Requesting Spot Forecasts on the Internet
The Internet should be the primary method
for requesting spot forecasts for your agency whenever possible.
Web based spot requests are typically fulfilled sooner and
more accurately than using the faxed D-1 format. Of course,
the D-1 form should still be used as a back-up when Internet
requests are not possible. Whenever a spot request is made,
please call the NWS office responsible
for fulfilling your request to confirm receipt.
Spot forecasts requested via the Internet
should be sent to the appropriate offices:
Reno
Fire Weather District - Western Nevada and Eastern
California
Elko
Fire Weather District - Northern and Eastern Nevada
Las
Vegas Fire Weather District - Southern Nevada (and
Northwest Arizona)
Simply click on the "Spot Forecasts"
button from any of the above web pages.
The main spot forecast page updates
every minute and shows you the location and status of any
spot forecasts that have already been requested for today.
You can view these other forecasts, as well as request a
new spot forecast of your own.
Each request has its own web page where
all the information about that request is displayed, including
maps, information about the request and, eventually, the
forecast. Sensitive information about the request (such
as phone numbers, names of contact persons, and the exact
location of the burn) is NOT visible by everyone - but only
on the computer that made the original request and NWS computers.
When you request a new spot forecast,
you provide information in a web-based form that is similar
to the D-1 form that you are probably used to using. The
information you provide on the form is checked for consistency,
and after you complete the form, the NWS is notified of
a new request and a new web page is created for this burn.
Once you have submitted a request, you
will probably want to view the web page for your burn -
or check back frequently to view its status. To view the
web page for any burn or wildfire, go to the main spot forecast
web page, click either on the name of the burn in the listing,
or on the dot on the map for the burn. This page will also
automatically update every minute so that when new information
becomes available, you will see it right away. If we find
any errors in your request, we might even send you a question
that will show up on this page. You can answer the question,
or make other changes to your request from this web page,
but ONLY from the computer that made the original request.
Since the forecast screen is automatically updated every
minute, you will see the forecast within a minute of it
being issued.
When the forecast is complete, you can
print the web page, or do whatever you want with the information.
From the main spot forecast page, you have the ability to
switch to a similar screen for days other than today. You
can use this to send us feedback on earlier forecasts, or
to copy the information from one request to a new request
for today.
If you have any questions or problems,
we are available by phone at 775-673-8105.
Please call this number when you send a web spot request to the Reno NWS
office to ensure that we have received the request.
|
|
Spot Forecast Monitor
The main spot forecast monitoring page
shows you all of today’s spot forecasts on the map and also
in the list at the bottom of the page.
This page auto-updates every minute, so
as new spot forecasts are requested or their status changes,
you immediately see the changes on the page.
The dots on the map show the locations
of the burns, and the status of the spot forecast requests.
Green squares indicate requests that are still pending. Purple
squares indicate burns where questions have been asked. Red
squares indicate burns where the forecast has been completed.
You can either click on the dots on the map, or the list of
spot names at the bottom of the page to view the individual
webpage for each request.
You can use the arrow buttons next to
the date to view spot requests from other days, or you can
use the "CALENDAR" link to move to other days more
quickly.
To request a spot forecast, click on the
button labeled "Submit a new Spot Request," and
you will be taken to the Spot Request Form.
Spot Request Form
You fill in this form with the information
needed to request a spot forecast.
The first time you fill out a spot request,
almost all the boxes will be empty. After that, many of the
boxes will be filled in with information that shouldn’t change
very much from one request to another (such as your name and
phone number).
The elements highlighted in red are required
for us to complete your spot forecast. While the other items
may not be necessary, they are very important to our ability
to make an accurate and useful forecast.
The form is broken down into seven sections.
Lets look at each section individually, and the parameters
you will need to fill in:
Project Name Section
You need to provide a name for your project.
The name cannot be the same as any other project for the same
day - and you will be alerted if you pick a name the same
as an existing burn.
You should use the buttons to indicate
whether the fire is a Wildfire, WFU or Prescribed Fire (Prescribed
fire is chosen by default when you enter the form). For prescribed
fires, you should indicate the ignition time and date using
a 24-hour clock (and the time zone if necessary). The form
defaults to an ignition time about ½ hour in the future.
If the spot forecast request is not related
to a wildfire or prescribed burn (HAZMAT spill, replanting,
wildlife transfer, aerial spraying operation, etc.), please
indicate this clearly in the project name and/or the comments
section. References to ignition time in the spot forecast
will then indicate the start of the non-fire related project.
Requesting Agency Section
You need to tell us who you are! Here
you provide your agency name, your phone number for both voice
and fax (please include the area code) and your name. All
this information will be helpful to us if there are problems
or questions and we need to contact you. You will only need
to enter this information the first time you request a spot
forecast. After that, it will be filled in with the same information
as your last request.
Location Section
In this section you tell us the precise
location of the burn. You can either specify the legal location
or the latitude/longitude. If you use the legal method, you
should provide something like: T5N R12E Sec24. If you use
the latitude/longitude method, you can either specify degrees
like: 45.1486 or degrees/minutes/seconds like: 45 13 34.
If you can, please specify the name of
the 7 ½ minute USGS quadmap where the burn is located. We
will check that against the legal or lat/lon location that
you give. The elevation (in feet) at the top and bottom of
the burn should be entered in the "Elevation" boxes.
If the burn is on flat ground, you can enter a value in only
one of the boxes. Enter the name of the nearest drainage in
the "Drainage" box. This helps us further locate
the burn when the legal or lat/lon location still leaves some
ambiguity. Enter the slope aspect, such as NE or S (or possibly
FLAT) in the "Aspect" box. This helps us further
locate the burn. Also, please enter the size of the burn (in
acres) in the "Size" box.
|
|
Fuel Section
Please indicate the type of fuel, either
using fuel model numbers, or a description of the fuel such
as "grass," "ponderosa pine," etc. Also,
if you can indicate the amount of fuel sheltering, it helps
us tremendously in providing accurate wind forecasts.
Observation Section
In this section you provide us with
local observations near the burn. For each observation we
need where it is in relation to the burn (for example, "base
camp," "1 mile NW" or something like that),
the elevation (in feet) and the time (preferably using a
24-hour clock). The wind (in miles per hour) can be specified
as "N12 Gust 25" or something like that. The temperature
and wet-bulb values (in degrees F) should be entered and
the RH (in percent) and Dewpoint (in degrees F) can also
be entered if known (they will be calculated from the Temperature/Wet-bulb/Elevation
if you do not provide them). Finally, any remarks about
clouds, weather or other important information should be
entered in the final box. If you have more than 4 observations
(and we like that!) please put them in the comments section
below (or fax them to us!).
Forecast Elements Section
Not all spot requests are created equal!
In this section we are asking you to tell us what are the
forecast elements you need, or are particularly important.
If you have a grass fire that will be out by later today,
we don’t want to waste time worrying about the temperature
for tomorrow, unless you really need it. Likewise, if the
wind direction is particularly important for you, we want
to know about it. Pick the parameters that you need for
today, tonight and tomorrow. If we think something is particularly
noteworthy, we will let you know - even if you didn’t request
it. If you are submitting a request in the evening for the
next day - keep in mind that you are requesting parameters
for the day of the burn. For wildfires, we will provide
all parameters (except smoke dispersion), so you do not
need to waste time filling this in, unless you have a parameter
that is particularly critical for you (in which case, this
is a good place to indicate that).
Comments Section
If there is something else that you
think we need to know, or something you couldn’t fit elsewhere
on the form, please enter it here. There is virtually no
limit to what you can put here.
Submit the form
When you are ready to submit the form,
just click on the "Submit Request" button at the
bottom of the page. If you want to cancel the request you
can click on the "Cancel Request" button, and
if you want to clear the form and start over again, you
can click on the "Clear Form" button.
When you submit the form, various checks
are performed on the data you have entered. Some problems
make it impossible for your request to be accepted (for
example, if you forget to enter a name for the burn), which
other will produce warnings and messages for your information.
If an error is found, you will be given the opportunity
to go back and fix the form, or cancel the request. Once
you are confident there are no more errors in your request,
it will be submitted and we will be automatically notified
through our computer systems. If you have the time, we appreciate
it if you could still call us, just in case something goes
wrong on the web and we don’t get notified of your request.
|
|
Spot Forecast Webpage
After you have submitted a spot forecast
request, an individualized spot forecast webpage becomes
available for that burn. This page automatically updates
every minute so that as new information becomes available
for the burn, you see it immediately. Detailed maps of the
area around the burn are generated and displayed when they
become available. Keep in mind that "sensitive"
information like your name, phone number, and the exact
location of the burn are NOT visible to others - only to
you and the NWS.
If we have questions about your request,
we may send you back a question about it. If this happens,
you will see a big red box in the forecast page, with our
question. Usually, there is some problem with the request
that you can probably fix (use the links at the bottom of
the page to change the request) or you can call us.
When your forecast is complete, it will
show up in the spot forecast webpage automatically, and
a box to provide feedback will become available. We hope
that you can provide us feedback with how the forecast worked
out, perhaps later in the day or several days down the road.
This feedback helps us tremendously in improving our forecasts.
At the bottom of the forecast page are
links for actions that you can take. For example, you can
go "Back to Spot List" to return to the monitor
page. If you are at the same computer that made the original
request, you can click on "Change Request" to
change the details of your request, or "Delete Request"
to delete the request.
You can also click on "Copy Info
to New Spot Request." This is helpful for burns that
last over several days. Rather than having to re-enter the
data in the form in order to get a new forecast - you can
view the previous forecast and then copy all the location
parameters to a new request using this link. This will save
you some time when filling out the request form.
Invariably, something will go wrong
at some point, and you might not be able to request or receive
spot requests via the webpage (for example, your computers
might go down, or our web server may fail). In such cases,
we would like you fill out the paper version of the request
form (as it appears on the next page) and fax it to us.
We will fax you back the forecast when it is complete. Please
keep in mind that this should be used as a last resort.
Spot Forecast Requests received via the webpage will be
completed more quickly.
|
|
|
|
Webmaster
US Dept of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Reno Weather Forecast Office
2350 Raggio Pkwy
Reno, NV 89512-3900
Tel: (775) 673-8100
|
Disclaimer
Information Quality
Credits
Glossary |
Privacy Policy
Freedom of Information Act
About Us
Career Opportunities
|
National Weather Service Mission: "The
National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather,
hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for
the United States, its territories, adjacent waters
and ocean areas, for the protection of life and
property and the enhancement of the national economy.
NWS data and products form a national information
database and infrastructure which can be used by
other governmental agencies, the private sector,
the public, and the global community." |
|
|
www.weather.gov 
