On March 23rd, the National Weather Service in Huntsville completed the first phase of collaborative work with NASA and the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) to improve weather operations in Central America. This work is being conducted within the framework of SERVIR (a Spanish acronym for the regional visualization and monitoring system), which was jointly developed by NASA, the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and CATHALAC.

Michael Coyne, Meteorologist-In-Charge of the National Weather Service office in Huntsville, met with CATHALAC officials at the center's headquarters in City of Knowledge, Panama. During the afternoon, Coyne spoke with a reporter from "El Panama America" (article in Spanish) about the NWS and provided some background information on his career.

Coyne also spoke at a seminar held at the Foreign Ministry Building commemorating World Meteorological Day. This seminar was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama and CATHALAC. Coyne spoke to high level representatives from all Central American countries concerning the technologies used in NWS warning operations. "It was an incredible opportunity to share how we are able to use weather information to save lives in the United States," said Coyne. "It was an honor to be a part of this kind of collaboration."

Kate Wunderlich, a Presidential Management Fellow from NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (currently assigned to CATHALAC) spoke about NOAA's priorities and strategic vision for the 21st century. Emilio Sempris, Director of CATHALAC, discussed SERVIR's work and how it can be applied to the hydrometeorological services in the Central American region, in the context of extreme weather events.

SERVIR's robust imaging, modeling, and mapping technologies provide regional governments, scientists and stakeholders with imagery detailing everything from tropical storms and "red tides" of toxic algae to forest fires and the ravaging effects of deforestation. CATHALAC takes these NASA tools, applies them to operations in a variety of scientific fields such as hydrology, and assists Central American countries in using the information to improve the quality of life in these counties. While the operational SERVIR facility is located at CATHALAC in Panama, a test bed facility is located at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville, Alabama.

When interests in these counties inquired how this data could be better applied to operational meteorology, SERVIR leveraged their partnership with NWS Huntsville. Co-located with the SERVIR test bed facility in the NSSTC building, NWS Huntsville provided training and instruction to CATHALAC on utilizing NWS Situational Awareness displays, how the United States provides hydrometeorological information to the public, and steps involved in utilizing current technologies.

Attendees to the event included:
Ricardo Duran, Panama's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Guillermo Salazar, Panama's Minister of Farming Development
Gerard Gomez, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Roberto Jimenez, General Manager of Institute of Agropecuarian Insurance (ISA)
Raul Lago, Representative of the Organization of American States (OAS)
Jose Dimas Espinoza, Representative of the Panamanian Commission (COPEG)
Tim Lattimer, Councilor for Economic Affairs, Embassy of the United States in the Republic of Panama
Jaime Toral Boutet, General Director, Ministry of Public Works
Matthew Carlson, Regional Director PLAN International
Daniel Arancibia, Forest Management Service
Renee Lopez, Climate Change Division, Ministry of Environment
Renee Celaya, Regional Director for Latin America, CARE International
Carlos Fuller, Belize Chief Meteorologist
Leon Prop, Regional Director, Red Cross International
Kermit Moh, Representative of USAID
Ambassadors to Panama from Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Peru, Haiti, and Honduras