Reducing bias in OAR’s Earth System Model is an indicator of the improved skill of precipitation simulation. Bias is defined as the long-term mean (or average over time) difference between a simulated (model generated) value and the observed value. This performance measure will track the reduction in bias (e.g., percent reduction of the current FY21 bias) in U.S. seasonal precipitation simulations in OAR Earth System models based on a percentage of bias in past Earth System models.

The Commerce Data Governance Board (CDGB) has working groups that develop and create meta data for performance metrics that that will be used by multiple or all bureaus. Each group has an action plan with due dates. This measure reports the percent of the actions in these plans that are on schedule within one quarter of the original due date.

% of employees completing training and development programs or courses in the area of career management/development.

 The Argo program is responsible for providing real-time data for the upper 2000m of ocean heat content globally and for important regions like the Tropical Pacific for detection of El Nino.

The Evidence Act staff of the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs sponsors events to engage Department staff and external stakeholders (academics, non-profits, other agencies, state and local government) with using and improving the Department’s data for evidence building and evidence/evaluation projects. The events include: Opportunity Project events sponsored by the OUSEA; training events; facilitated focus groups; data labs; stakeholder outreach events; events to discuss specific projects and data accessibility. This measure reports the number of individuals who participated in these events. It is a new measure and baseline data will not be available until the end of FY 23.

NCIs Regional Climate Services support development and delivery of place-based climate science and information products and services to help people make informed decisions relevant to region-specific economic activity, hazards, and vulnerability. The annual target notes the number of top economic sectors to be analyzed in each region as well as the total number of sectors analyzed across the six RCS regions. The sectors can vary from region to region (i.e., fishing/tourism will be an important sector for coastal areas but not in the Midwest).

Tornado Warnings are issued to enable the public to get out of harm’s way and mitigate preventable loss. NWS forecasters issue approximately 2,900 Tornado Warnings per year, primarily between the Rockies and Appalachian Mountains. Tornado Warning statistics are based on a comparison of warnings issued and weather spotter observations of tornadoes and/or storm damage surveys from Weather Forecast Offices in the United States.

Lead Time (LT) for a Tornado Warning is the difference between the time the warning was issued and the time the tornado occurred (based on certified reports) in minutes, assuming the tornado tracked within the bounds of the warned area. Lead Times for all tornado occurrences within the U.S. are averaged to get this statistic for a given fiscal year. This average includes all warned events with zero lead times and all unwarned events.

Lead Time is calculated down to the minute for individual Tornado Warnings and tornadic events. Although the timing of the warning transmission is recorded to the nearest second, typically there is only an estimate to the nearest minute of when a tornado touches down. Additionally, even though we can compute the average tornado warning lead time to a precision of 30 second increments or less, the reporting of this value implies greater accuracy in the data based on scientific and logistical restrictions on tornado reporting and surveying. Most tornadoes cannot be visually tracked from beginning to end and post-storm damage surveying is the official method with which the NWS categorizes tornado characteristics (intensity, path length & width) but must rely on radar data to estimate the timing of the tornado track.

NOAA is consolidating activities for the NAVSTA Newport, RI location. Currently NOAA has two ships homeported at NAVSTA, the Henry B. Bigelow and Okeanos Explorer. In order to remain in compliance with the CENOTE Act, NOAA is required to co-locate with the Navy whenever possible to increase technological sharing capabilities. This consolidation aligns with NOAA's regional facilities plans. The OMAO consolidation has milestones to complete design (FY22), and then FY23 issuance of an RFP and award of the contract.

Integrating social scientists earlier and more widely in inter-disciplinary research projects will help drive innovation and facilitate greater consideration of end users’ requirements during the design and implementation of research, when it is more feasible to adjust the work to improve its value to end users.

Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. TsunamiReady Communities support a Weather-Ready Nation by preparing for the occurrence of high impact environmental events. On an annual basis NWS targets 50 new and renewed TsunamiReady communities pending funding availability. A TsunamiReady County or Community or Tribe is defined as a coastal local government entity* that has the authority and ability to adopt the TsunamiReady recognition guidelines for the residents and visitors within its jurisdiction. *The term “local government” here means – (A) a county, parish (LA), borough (AK), or municipality (PR) (B) an incorporated municipality, city, town, or township (C) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska Native village or organization (D) a military installation