Mary Kicza News

The same NOAA satellites that helped forecasters predict severe weather, such as the Moore, Okla., tornado last May and November’s deadly Midwest tornado outbreak, also played a key role in rescuing 253 people from potentially life-threatening scenarios throughout the United States and its surrounding waters last year. A combination of NOAA polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites detected distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers and relayed information about their location to first responders on the ground.

In a new era of increased interagency cooperation, the National/Naval Ice Center (NIC), in Suitland, Md., is celebrating a partnership that has been working successfully for over 30 years. The NIC, comprised of the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), provides specialized strategic and tactical ice analyses to meet the operational needs of the U.S. government. It is the only ice center in the world that monitors sea ice in both northern and southern hemispheres by producing routine analyses of the Arctic, Antarctic and other ice infested waters. On Feb. 22, past and present staff members and leaders from the three participating agencies will gather to celebrate this unique collaboration.