1. Your National Weather Service Derek Deroche Meteorologist National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Kansas City/Pleasant Hill

2. Who We Are?  122 Weather Forecast Offices located in the US and its territories  9 NCEP offices which provide special services on a national level (Storm Prediction Center, Climate Prediction Center, Tropical Prediction Center)  13 River Forecast Centers  21 Central Weather Service Units  6 Regional Headquarters  Federal government  Department of Commerce  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

3. NWS Kansas City/Pleasant Hill Your NWS Office 44 Counties across Northern/Central Missouri and extreme Eastern Kansas Covering 24,139 square miles and over 2 Million people!! 20 Meteorologists staffed 24x7x365 dedicated to public safety 44 Counties across Northern/Central Missouri and extreme Eastern Kansas Covering 24,139 square miles and over 2 Million people!! 20 Meteorologists staffed 24x7x365 dedicated to public safety

4. Surrounding NWS Offices Pleasant Hill Davenport, IA St. Louis Paducah Memphis Springfield Wichita Topeka Pleasant Hill Davenport, IA St. Louis Paducah Memphis Springfield Wichita Topeka

5. What We Do Produce Weather, Water and Climate Forecasts and Warnings For All Americans To Protect Life and Property To Enhance the National Economy Data and Products: Government Agencies Private Sector The Public Global Communities Weather and data are becoming more important to economy and business decisions “The annual cost of electricity could decrease by at least $1 billion if the accuracy of weather forecasts improved 1 degree Fahrenheit.” -USA Today, 6/19/01

6. What We Do  The NWS is the only OFFICIAL voice for issuing warnings during life-threatening weather situations!  Provide support to other government agencies with specialized products such as aviation and fire weather forecasts.  Support local officials during emergencies and hazardous situations.  Provide forecasts and data to the public and private companies  River and flood forecasts and services  Largest weather data collection network in the world  NOAA Weather Radio  Skywarn Spotter Program  Cooperative Observation Program  Outreach projects

7. Skywarn Spotters  Nearly 250,000 trained spotters nationwide (stationary and mobile)  “Ground Truth” Identify and Describe Local Storms  Information supplements Radar and Satellite Data

8. Storm Chasing  Why chase storms? (cost, training, etc.)  Can it be a profession?  Duty as a chaser