[Skywarn] Fwd: Fw: SPIA-Index.com website has officially been LAUNCHED!

[Lloyd Colston]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Taunia Bozarth


Just a note to let you know that the “SPIA-Index.com” website, located
at http://www.spia-index.com  has officially been launched!  Thanks to
Hayley Imel (Leatherwood!) and with the assistance of our web
development team of Marc Barker and Tony Jenkins, the final ‘tweaks’
to the website were worked on today, with the site being finished as
of 3:15 this afternoon. We do have some content and research additions
to add in the future, but for now, the website is fully functional and
seems to be operating just fine – thanks to the great servers at OEM!

I would greatly appreciate you all getting the word out to all of your
contacts about the usefulness of this website. We not only have the
SPIA-Index for Oklahoma, but for 8 different regions of the country as
well, separated by time zones and by north-south geographic areas.
This allows ice forecasts from the National Weather Service to be
monitored on not only a statewide basis, but on a national basis as
well.

In addition to the SPIA-Index tab under the Oklahoma menu, we have
included the following graphic displays using NWS forecast data:
Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF), Snow & Sleet Forecast,
Temperature Forecast, and Apparent Temperature Forecast (heat index or
wind chill index). We also have “Storm Forecast Probabilities” showing
the likelihood of Thunderstorms, Sleet, Snow, and Ice. Lastly, and
also under the Oklahoma menu, we have two “Fire Weather Products,” the
first being NWS Fire Weather Relative Humidity (35% RH and below) and,
a graphical display for the NWS Fire Spread Index, the latter showing
the fire spread rate in feet per minute for cured grasses. We hope
these “Fire & Ice” products will be very helpful to all Emergency
Managers at the state, county and municipal level.

I’d also invite you to check out the geographical menu items, labeled
Northeast, Southeast, North Central, South Central, North Rockies,
South Rockies, Northwest, and Southwest. Five tabs under each of these
sections also let viewers see NWS forecast projections graphically for
the SPIA Index, QPF, Snow & Sleet, Temperature, and Apparent
Temperature.

Lastly, additional tabs have been included for more information. Those
tabs – located at the upper right side of the page, and at the footer
of all web pages – include the following: “About the Developers,”
“Contact Us,” “Copyright Information,” a “Disclaimer,” a list of
“Licensed Partners,” (of which OEM is one!), and last but not least,
“Additional Resources,” which includes both State and National Fire
and Ice Resources, along with a “Research” section devoted to the
validity of the SPIA Index, and an “Awards & Citations” section noting
the several awards and citations that the SPIA Index has earned from
various agencies over the last 5 years.

Please tour the website and let me know what you think. We invite your
input, and want this website to be one that proves to be useful to all
those who deal with emergency preparedness situations – including ice
storms!

Steve Piltz, Meteorologist In Charge at Tulsa NWS, deserves all the
credit for making these graphical programs come to life, and we could
not have done this project without his assistance!

Please let me know if you see other opportunities for menu items that
could be incorporated into this website. The SPIA-Index.com website is
meant to be a risk management and emergency preparedness tool, for
both summer and winter events.

Respectfully,

Sid Sperry
OAEC

Sidney K. Sperry
Director of Public Relations, Communications & Research
Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
2325 East I-44 Service Road
P.O. Box 54309
Oklahoma City, OK  73154-1309


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Lloyd Colston KC5FM
Altus, OK USA http://wx5em.us
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