The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices in Missoula and Great Falls, Montana, invite you to participate in the Thirteenth Annual Great Divide Weather Workshop, October 20-22, 2009, in Missoula, Montana. The conference is scheduled to begin at 1 pm on Tuesday, October 20th and end at 3 pm on Thursday, October 22nd. These times will allow attendees to use the 20th and the 22nd as travel days.

The conference's focus will be on the forecast challenges faced in the Intermountain West and the Western High Plains. There will be special emphasis on fire weather and fire science topics. We hope to make this workshop an excellent means to share and gather new ideas ranging from NWS decision support actions to forecast techniques in the Intermountain West.

The workshop will be held at the U.S. Forest Service's Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC), which is conveniently located adjacent to the Missoula NWS forecast office (Phone: 406-329-4840). Both are just off Interstate 90 at the Missoula International Airport. A block of rooms is reserved at the Best Western Grant Creek Inn (Phone: 406-543-0700) from the night of Oct 19 through the night of Oct 22. Room cost will be at the government lodging rate for Missoula. The Grant Creek Inn is also located just off Interstate 90, a few miles from MTDC. Transportation will be available from the hotel to MTDC. The Grant Creek Inn offers free transportation to and from the airport, as well as a free full breakfast. You may find this map of the area [PDF] handy.

Abstracts should be submitted by September 1st, 2009. More information on submitting abstracts, as well as registering for the workshop, will be distributed soon.

A banquet is tentatively scheduled for the evening of October 21st at the Best Western Grant Creek Inn. Fees for the banquet, which will be a plated dinner, will be collected on the first day during conference registration. A cash bar is also planned.

Registration Instructions

1. Please complete the form below (submission of requested information is voluntary; however, without the requested information we may not be able to process your registration). Submit separate forms for each person who will participate. If attending but not presenting, please register using the form below and indicate - Not presenting - in the topic or abstract space provided. If you experience any difficulty or problems registering please contact us.
2. Click "submit" at the bottom of the page when you are finished and your completed registration form will be submitted to the National Weather Service.
3. You will receive an E-mail informing you of your successful registration for the Great Divide Workshop.

See "NWS Privacy Policy" for information on collecting information.