NWS Fire Weather Professional Development Series (PDS)

Statement Of Responsibility

This Professional Development Series (PDS) provides NWS personnel with an understanding of fire partners and the elements and products that support fire weather. The WFO Meteorologist has the role of producing fire weather elements for the National Digital Forecast Database and analyzing these elements to determine sub-grid scale influences of terrain. They need to recognize patterns and monitor weather conditions and fuels to detect the potential for large fire growth and/or erratic behavior. They transfer this information to the fire weather user community through products and Impact-Based Decision Support Services. The content of these products is driven by a comprehension of partner needs. The fire community relies on this information to make strategic and tactical decisions for both Prescribed and Wildfire activity. WFO Fire Weather Program Leaders (FWPL) and WFO Management interface and conduct training with local agencies and incident management teams to ensure that these services are timely and effective. They ensure situational awareness is maintained by forecasters regarding fuel conditions and fire activities. Support to users can be elevated through deployment of meteorologists who can work onsite, which may include Deployment Ready Meteorologists for support to Operation Centers, dispatch centers or equivalent support centers, or Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) to Incident Command Posts (ICP) with an Incident Management Team (IMT). The onsite presence of an IMET comes with an expectation of elevated awareness of fire operations and an ability to rapidly assess terrain impacts on local weather conditions. IMET duty can be arduous and requires continued preparation and training to ensure that effective service can be provided during a spectrum of operational environments.

Fire Weather Forecaster interrelated abilities and skill sets (PCUs 1-4)

1.	Recognize partners who use NWS fire weather products and services
2.	Interpret information about fuels and fire dangers and combine this with weather information to identify critical weather patterns.
3.	Coordinate with other NWS and non NWS meteorologists and fire partners to decide whether to issue specific fire weather products.
4.	Employ adaptive situational awareness to monitor meteorological and non-meteorological factors impacting the fire environment across a regional area.
5.	Prepare and provide the unique products and services designed for fire weather.
6.	Impact strategic and tactical decisions by communicating to fire partners through briefings, social media and chat technologies.
7.	Identify and assess varying weather regimes in complex terrain and communicate sub grid scale environmental information to partners.

Additional abilities and skills for Fire Weather Program Leaders, Regional Fire Weather Program Leaders, IMETs, Deployment Ready Forecasters and WFO management (PCU 1-5)

8.	Understand the role of local Fire Weather Program Leaders, Regional Fire Weather Program Leaders, National Fire Weather Leadership, National Centers, IMETs, Deployment Ready Forecasters, and WFO Management in the Fire Weather Program
9.	Liasion with partner agencies to ensure WFO services are meeting needs
10.	Implement training that ensures WFO staff can meet agency needs
11.	Understanding of Interagency financial agreements and complete reimbursable forms.

Additional abilities and skills for IMETs (PCUs 1-6)

12.	Maintain preparedness to rapidly deploy to and support incidents.
13.	Utilize comprehension of incident operations to provide detailed weather support.

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