NWS Operations Center – Cindy Woods

The NWS Operations Center’s (NWSOC) primary responsibilities are to organize and maintain two-way communications between senior leadership and the field.   The NWSOC keeps senior officials from the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and NWS apprised of any environmental or service-related events through both routine and real-time briefings, emails and written reports through its seven day per week operations. The NWSOC coordinates with NWS Regional Operations Centers (ROCs), NWS National Centers (NCEP), and NOAA Homeland Security Program Office (HSPO). The NWSOC acts as the general off-hours focal point for the ROCs and NWS Headquarters and follows FEMA’s Incident Command System (ICS) structure to enable surge staffing capacity as events unfold. The NWSOC issues event reports and GIS-formatted situational awareness graphics that are distributed to DOC/NOAA/NWS and numerous Federal partners. Staff from the NWSOC is deployed at FEMA’s National Watch Center, with FEMA’s National Incident Management Assistant Teams (N-IMAT), and with the National Interagency Fire Center. The Operation’s Center conducts outreach and coordinates with Operational Centers at other Federal Agencies including: Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, Health and Human Services Secretary Operations Center, the Centers for Disease Control, the Veteran’s Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Staff at the NWSOC also works with NWS Office of Communications and conducts media interviews and provides social media updates as needed.