National Weather Service tours AEDC

  • Published
  • By Consetta Woosley
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Members of the National Weather Service (NWS) recently visited Arnold AFB to understand the impact their services have on testing at the center.

ATA's Emergency Management Team worked very closely with both the Huntsville and Nashville NWS offices in order for Arnold AFB to attain the designation of "Storm Ready Community" in May 2011.

"Over the course of becoming 'Storm Ready' we at AEDC have developed a sound working relationship with both Nashville and Huntsville weather forecasters," said ATA Emergency Management Lead Daryl Justice. "They requested the tour, as they wanted to see the facilities they are providing their services to."

The entire process of becoming "Storm Ready" took six months, and AEDC is the only military installation in Tennessee with the designation.

"The experience working with AEDC has been wonderful," said NWS Nashville Warning Coordination Meteorologist Tom Johnstone. "They are committed to the safety of the employees and visitors. We have worked very closely with AEDC to get the base recognized as 'Storm Ready'. That is a testament to the relationship we have with AEDC and to AEDC's commitment to keep their employees safe."

The tour group consisted of seven employees from the Nashville NWS office and eight employees from the Huntsville NWS office. The Mach I Space Chamber was of special interest to NWS Huntsville Warning Coordination Meteorologist David Nadler.

"I was very impressed with AEDC, in particular the Mark I Space Chamber, which tests weather satellites (like GOES-M)," Nadler said. "Obviously, these satellites have a direct impact on NWS operations and play a very important role in our day-to-day forecasts."

The group also toured the Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility and Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility.

"It (AEDC) is very impressive ... with a lot of things that tie back into what we do at the National Weather Service," Johnstone said. "We see that a lot of the testing that is done is affected by the weather. There are safety factors going on and testing cannot be done in certain weather conditions, so it brings home to us the importance of what we do in the National Weather Service and how our partners rely on the information we are providing."