Performance Management

NWS Releases August/September 2017 Hurricane Harvey Service Assessment!

The NWS has released the August/September 2017 Hurricane Harvey Service Assessment.  The report was signed in June 2018 by John D. Murphy, National Weather Service, Chief Operating Officer.

Hurricane Harvey, the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, produced catastrophic impacts over Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. The center of Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, TX, as a Category 4 hurricane, producing impacts due to high winds, storm surge, and numerous tornadoes.  In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain as the cyclone meandered over eastern Texas and adjacent waters, causing catastrophic flooding.  With peak accumulations of over 60 inches of rain, Hurricane Harvey produced the most rain on record for a tropical storm or other weather event in the contiguous United States and caused an estimated 125 billion dollars of damage according to NOAA.  At least 68 fatalities in Texas alone were directly attributable to this event, the highest death toll due to a tropical system in that state since 1919. 

Because of the highly significant impacts of the event, the National Weather Service assembled a service assessment team to evaluate its performance before and during Hurricane Harvey.

NWS Releases the Gulf of Alaska Tsunami, January 23, 2018 Service Assessment!

The NWS Alaska Region has released the Gulf of Alaska Tsunami, January 23, 2018 Regional Service Assessment.   

Tsunami events are relatively infrequent in Alaska and other parts of the United States when compared with routinely issued NWS weather hazards. Although minor in terms of resulting wave impacts, the January 23, 2018 tsunami event provided a rare opportunity to examine and assess the complete tsunami warning system in Alaska and along the U.S. West Coast.

This service assessment reviewed operations, products, and services at the National Tsunami Warning Center and at Alaska Region Weather Forecast Offices. Tsunami.gov website performance was examined along with the NWS social media presence, staffing levels, education and outreach, media coverage, and coordination and communication between offices throughout the event. Feedback was gathered from the National Weather Service Headquarters Tsunami Program, Western Region Headquarters, and Western Regional coastal WFOs in addition to the State of Alaska Emergency Operations Center, Alaska community emergency responders, and the public.

GPRA Metrics National Yearly Trends Updated!

GPRA Metrics National Yearly Trends have been updated to include FY17 scores.  This report contains graphics and summaries of multi-year GPRA trends in the following categories:  Tornado Warnings, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, Winter Storm Warnings, Aviation (TAFs), Marine Forecasts, Flash Flood Warnings, Hurricane Track Forecasts, and Max/Min Temperature Forecasts.  You may view all charts and summaries on the GPRA Overview Page of the Performance Management site.