The AHHI provides an indicator of the overall amount of U.S. EEZ that is currently surveyed to an appropriate level of certainty to support safe navigation. The index is measured based on an internal model that assessed the degree of certainty needed for a a given area based on several factors – for instance, highly tracked and shallower areas need higher resolution surveys, and must be resurveyed more frequently to capture natural and human-caused changes (e.g., from storms, dredging, or maritime accidents). The index has a maximum score of 300; areas that are more important to maritime industry are weighted more heavily in the index.

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.

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.

The number of existing full time and/or part time employment positions created and/or retained as reported by a MBE client served.

This performance indicator measures the estimated sum of private investment leveraged, by communities and regions, attributable to the EDA investment made to support the travel and tourism sector.

Precipitation forecasts and other foundational general weather guidance developed by the Weather Prediction Center are used extensively by the weather enterprise. This performance measure tracks the ability of the weather forecasters of NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) to predict accurately the occurrence of one inch or more of precipitation (rain or the water equivalent of melted snow or ice pellets) twenty-four hours in advance across the contiguous U.S.

This information is used by government entities, economic sectors, and the general public to manage daily lives and activities and make resource decisions.

Each site within the National Marine Sanctuary System conducts or facilitates characterization, monitoring, and research to protect the resources in the system. A series of questions are posed to all sanctuaries as a starting point for the creation of periodic condition reports that rate the status and trends of key resources, processes, and resource services provided. One way to determine how comprehensively we are conducting monitoring in a sanctuary, or gathering information for use in the condition reports, is to quantify the proportion of relevant questions and ecosystem services for which experts are able to provide ratings. The higher the proportion, the more adequate the monitoring program.

Visibility and cloud ceiling forecasts are critical for aircraft safety and efficient operations. When visibility or cloud ceilings are low, pilots rely on instruments to navigate instead of visual reconnaissance. The Federal Aviation Administration establishes Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) thresholds—visibility less than three statute miles and/or cloud ceilings at, or below, 1000 feet—for safety.

NWS assesses the quality of IFR threshold forecasts in response to these requirements. Fundamental statistical metrics, specifically Probability of Detection (POD) and False Alarm Ratio (FAR), are used to track IFR forecast performance. Probability of Detection (POD), also known as Accuracy, is a ratio that describes the number of times IFR is correctly forecasted compared to the total number of IFR occurrences. FAR is a ratio that describes the number of IFR forecasts when IFR was not observed compared to the total number of forecast attempts. These two metrics must always be used in conjunction, as one can be improved at the expense of the other. Greater accuracy and a minimized FAR result in safer flights and fewer flight delays; conversely, poorer accuracy and an increased FAR result in a greater incidence of unnecessary flight delays.

The public, private sectors, emergency managers, and government institutions at all levels in this country and abroad use NOAA tropical cyclone forecasts to make decisions regarding the protection of life and property. This goal measures the difference between the projected and actual location of the center of tropical cyclones in nautical miles (nm) for the Atlantic Basin, averaged over all the 48-hour forecasts occurring during the calendar year.

* Annual Hurricane Season begins June 1 and ends November 30. The final values are produced after a verification and validation period.

Because tropical cyclones are relatively rare events, this measure can show significant annual volatility. Projecting the long-term trend, and basing out-year goals on that trend, is preferred over making large upward or downward changes to the targets each year.

For each reported flash flood event, the flash flood warning lead-time is the difference in minutes between the issuance of a flash flood warning and the onset of a geographically corresponding flash flood event. The lead times for all flash flood events, within the United States and territories served by the National Weather Service, are averaged to calculate the national average flash flood warning lead-time metric for a given fiscal year. This average includes all warned events with zero lead times and all unwarned events.

Historically, flash flood warnings were issued and verified on a countywide basis. Starting in FY 2010, the storm-based warnings were implemented with verification based solely for the areas impacted by the warning and event.

Metric calculated as the percent of Climate Prediction Center extended (outlooks out to 14 days) and long range (monthly and seasonal outlooks) temperature and precipitation outlooks exceeding Heidke Skill Score (HSS) of 10 (10% better than a climatological forecast). Due to the scarcity of long range outlooks (six per month), scores are smoothed over a three year period. To better track results, three individual metrics are tracked – 1) All forecasts combined, 2) Temperature only, and 3) Precipitation only.