HONORS to those who deserve it
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Washington, D.C., April 22-- NOAA's National Weather Service today honored eight volunteers, who were selected as Environmental Heroes.
Established in 1995 to mark the 25th anniversary of Earth Day, the Environmental Hero Award is presented annually to individuals and organizations that volunteer to help NOAA accomplish its mission of describing, predicting and protecting the nation's environment. "NOAA volunteers provide a vital service to this country through their many contributions," said Brig. Gen. Jack Kelly, USAF (ret.), director of the National Weather Service. "Thousands of fine individuals provide their time, energy, and commitment to helping the National Weather Service fulfill its mission to help protect lives and property. I am proud NOAA selected eight NOAA National Weather Service nominees to honor as Environmental Heroes." NOAA is honoring 27 Environmental Heroes nationwide this year. The eight NWS nominees include: Juan Barceló, Puerto Rico Weather Net Coordinator, has served as a key link with the ham radio community whose information helps the Weather Service provide timely issuance of flash flood warnings.

The National Weather Service in San Juan relies on non-official rainfall reports provided by spotter members of the Puerto Rico Weather net. Since 1951 the spotter net has provided the NWS with valuable information. These spotters rely on their ham radios to transmit their 24 hour rainfall data on a daily basis to a net coordinator, who forwards the data to the NWS. This ever present coordinator has been Juan Barceló, net spotter member since 1956. As such he has participated on the daily net activities, acted as coordinator for nearly three decades, and at the age of 79 still continues to do so today. Mr. Barceló has always displayed a cooperative attitude towards NWS and the ham radio community. The rainfall data collected by the net has benefited the WFO verification and warning program, and continues to provide invaluable information today. This data fills the void in areas where there no rainfall sensors, and serves as ground truth for the NWS to comply with its mission of saving lives and property by issuing timely watches and warnings.

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