NOUS41 KWBC 121420
PNSWSH
Public Information Statement, Comment Request
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
1020 AM EDT Tue Apr 5 2011
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Manager Weather Information Network
-NOAAPORT
Other NWS partners and NWS employees
From: Therese Z. Pierce
Chief, Marine and Coastal Services Branch
Subject: Soliciting comments for two experimental services
from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) from June 1
through November 30, 2011
Effective June 1 and continuing through November 30, 2011,
NWS is seeking user feedback on two NHC experimental services.
In an effort to provide users with additional information to
enhance planning and preparedness decisions, NHC will provide
podcasts/audio briefings andvideocasts, when the media pool
is activated by the NHC Public Affairs Officer. In general, the
media pool is activated by NHC when a hurricane watch is initiated
for part of the United States coastline. The experimental services
will summarize NHC media advisories. Because the services are
experimental, they may not be available in a timely manner and
for every event.
Audio briefings/podcasts will be provided in mp3 format, an industry
standard which allows the products be disseminated via the Internet.
The podcasts will be posted online for usersto download. The mp3
files will be provided with Extensible Markup Language (XML)/Really
Simple Syndication (RSS) technology.
To subscribe to a podcast, a user would access the XML/RSS file using
podcasting software. This software is widely available on the internet
and manages audio feeds. Once subscribed to the RSS feed, the
podcasting software will periodically check for new audio files and
download them to a computer or mp3 player.
Users wishing to subscribe to the podcast should go to:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/audio/index_podcast.xml
Feedback concerning this experimental service is welcomed at:
http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=nhcpod
Videocasts: NHC has entered into an agreement with America’s Emergency
Network (AEN) to provide Internet protocol-based audio and video
streaming of its hourly hurricane briefings. This service will provide
media outlets not in the local area and the general public with access
to these briefings. In past years, NHC has provided hourly briefings
to the media through a media pool process that has sometimes resulted
in little or no local media outlet access to the briefings when storms
threatened lower-population areas or when media outlets could not send
reporters to NHC.
The video briefings are available to anyone with Internet access and
a web browser supporting mp4 format audio and video at:
http://www.emergency.info/nhc/
Feedback concerning this experimental service is welcomed at:
http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=nhcvid
If you have comments or questions...please contact:
DennisFeltgen
Public Affairs Officer
National Hurricane Center
11691 SW 17^ Street
Miami, FL 33165-2140
Dennis.Feltgen@xxxxxxxx <mailto:Dennis.Feltgen@xxxxxxxx>
305-229-4404
National Public Information Statements are online at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/notif.htm
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