The measure captures the count of significant and discrete NOAA research and development products that have transitioned to application at operational U.S. weather services and in the U.S. weather commercial sector. In addition, these weather products support NOAA contributions to the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017.

Key activities for fleet modernization and products are identified and tracked using a project management system. NOAA is currently using an IAA with the Navy for the first two General Purpose Oceanographic Ships under the Ship Recapitalization program. Key program milestones are used as the indicator for tracking acquisition progress. The next recapitalization ship is a Class B to conduct charting and surveys missions. This class will have its own key acquisition milestones.

This measures the accuracy of wind speed forecasts, which are important for marine commerce. Accuracy is defined in terms of error. Legacy statistics are available from FY 1994 through FY 2012. New marine verification program began FY 2013. Beginning in FY 2013, Wind and Wave verification extended out to 5 and 7 days respectively, while the legacy program was limited to verifying Day 1 with errors less than 5 knots are defined as accurate. Since FY 2014, a higher threshold of forecast errors has been used to define correct forecasts whenever higher wind speeds have occurred. Hence, wind speed forecasts with errors less than (7 knots, 10 knots, 15 knots) are accurate forecasts when the observed wind speed equals or exceeds (20 knots, 34 knots, 48 knots) respectively. This measure uses complex skill scores to analyze individual wind speed components.

This measures the accuracy of wave height forecasts, which are important for marine commerce. Accuracy is defined in terms of error. For the Day 1 wave height forecast, errors less than 2 feet are defined as accurate. Since FY 2014, a higher threshold of forecast errors has been used to define correct forecasts whenever higher waves have occurred. Hence, all wave height forecasts with errors less than (4 feet, 6 feet) are accurate forecasts when the observed wave height equals or exceeds (10 feet, 20 feet) respectively. This measure uses complex skill scores to analyze individual wave height components.

Key activities for the development and launch of weather satellites and products are identified and tracked using a project management system.

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.

The cumulative number of products across model regions by year (basically, products + regions complete). The measure is calculated by adding when a model component is completed and integrated into the regional model for the region indicated. As planned under the NOAA Climate and Fisheries Initiative, OAR will incorporate the three products above (high-resolution prototype ocean hindcasts, Seasonal to Multi-annual Predictions, and projections) into the regional models for the four regions listed (East Coast, West Coast, Arctic, and Pacific Islands). These enhanced regional models will be part of the information developed and provided to users to help manage U.S. fisheries that are impacted by climate change.

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).

Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. StormReady Communities support a Weather- Ready Nation by preparing for the occurrence of high impact environmental events. On an annual basis NWS targets 100 new StormReady Communities pending funding availability. StormReady supports NWS’ disaster risk reduction strategy and is offered to provide guidance and incentive to officials who want to improve their hazardous weather and flood operations. A long-term goal for the program is to make every county or county-equivalent in the United States StormReady. The 2010 U.S. Census identifies 3,234 county or county-equivalents in the United States. We are 44 percent of the way there with 1,419 county or county- equivalents currently recognized as StormReady. A StormReady Community is defined as a local government* entity or facility** that has the authority and ability to adopt the StormReady recognition guidelines for the residents and visitors within its jurisdiction. *The term “local government” means – (A) A county, parish, borough, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (regardless of whether the council of governments is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law), regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; (B) An Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska Native village or organization; and a rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity, which has the ability to achieve StormReady recognition. **The term “facility” for a StormReady community exclusively means - universities, military installations, state/national parks, power plants/utilities, transportation centers (e.g., airports), theme parks/entertainment complex, and large event venues (e.g. stadiums).

The Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador program is NOAA's effort to formally recognize organizations that are improving the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. WRN Ambassadors serve a pivotal role in affecting societal change. In order to determine how many of our WRN Ambassadors are serving socially vulnerable populations and businesses, we'll use the top quartile for the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of 0.75-1.0 overlaid with how many WRN Ambassadors are located in those areas. The target number in FY22 will serve as our current baseline and any increase in target number in FY23 will directly correlate to our planned increase in WRN Ambassadors (~500 organizations added).