A winter storm warning provides NOAA customers and partners advanced notice of a hazardous winter weather event that endangers life or property, or provides an impediment to commerce. Winter storm warnings are issued for winter weather phenomena like blizzards, ice storms, heavy sleet, and heavy snow. This performance indicator measures the accuracy of winter storm events.

Improving the accuracy and advance warnings of winter storms enables the public to take the necessary steps to prepare for disruptive winter weather conditions.

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 measure represents the difference between the projected intensity of these storms and the actual intensity in knots (kt) for Atlantic Basin tropical cyclones (i.e., tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes).

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

The measure is validated by computing the average difference (error) for all the 48-hour forecasts occurring during a calendar year. 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.

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.

Temperature outlooks are used by sectors of the U.S. economy, such as energy, agriculture, transportation, etc. as one factor in resource decision making. Temperature outlooks are reported as the probability of temperature being above normal or below normal or, where no definite guidance can be provided, equal chances. This is the cumulative skill calculated for regions where predictions are made.

This measure tracks the percentage of fish stocks that are below their annual catch limit (ACL) in a given year. In 2007, Congress enacted a requirement to use ACLs to end and prevent overfishing. The use of ACLs has been successful in ending and preventing overfishing, as stock assessments have shown the number of stocks subject to overfishing continuing to decline. Performance is measured by comparing the final annual catch estimate to the ACL for each stock that has an ACL. If the final annual catch estimate for the stock is less than the ACL, NOAA will report that the stock did not exceed its ACL.

The measure is the cumulative number of instances of NOAA datasets made openly available via partners' cloud platforms through collaborations with selected industry partners.

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

This performance indicator measures the dollar amount of EDA grants which help communities and regions be better positioned for foreign direct investment.

This performance indicator measures the estimated number of jobs created and retained attributable to EDA investments made in/to underserved communities and populations.

This measure shows the average number of days to complete an informal ESA Section 7 consultation. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA when any project or action might affect an ESA-listed marine species or a critical habitat. The process begins as informal consultation, but if it is determined that the action is likely to adversely affect a listed species and/or its critical habitat, the consultation must be formal. A large majority of consultations are handled informally.