CoCoRaHS WxTalk Webinar #74 - NOAA's Weather Prediction Center's Winter Weather Desk

Presented by Josh Weiss, NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD.
This is part 2 of a presentation about NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) following the April 30th discussion of WPC’s Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF), Excessive Rainfall Outlook (ERO), and Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions (MPDs).

WPC is known nationally for providing synoptic and mesoscale expertise for rainfall. However, did you know that WPC also provides winter weather expertise across the country? In this talk, we will “plow” through the details of the WPC Winter Weather Desk (WWD). What is WPC’s history and role in winter weather forecasting? What products and services are available to the National Weather Service offices and the public? Also, what does the future hold for the WPC WWD?

WPC is one of nine National Centers of Environmental Prediction that include Centers like the more familiar National Hurricane Center or Storm Prediction Center. However, much like the name implies, the mission of WPC is quite broad and covers many of the aspects of weather for the entire nation including but not limited to: Analysis and forecast weather maps/charts (ie fronts, high/low pressure area, isobars), heavy rainfall and flash flooding concerns, and winter weather in the short-term (up to 3 days) and medium range (up to 7-10) forecast periods, as well as, serving as backup to the National Hurricane Center.