(L to R): IMD Meteorologist Sunit Das; Professor T.N. Krishnamurti, Florida State University; WFO Melbourne Senior Forecaster Scott Spratt and Meteorologist-in-Charge Bart Hagemeyer; and, IMD Meteorologist Charan Singh (Photo: WFO Melbourne).

(Aug. 10, 2006) -- As part of a three-year project between the Government of India and the National Weather Service, the Weather Forecast Office in Melbourne, Fla. is hosting two meteorologists from the India Meteorology Department (IMD). The IMD meteorologists are there for a training course focusing on operational aspects of tropical cyclone forecasting, hazard communications and inter-agency coordination.

WFO Melbourne Senior Forecaster Scott Spratt is leading the training, and will accompany the trainees during a visit to the National Hurricane Center and the Hurricane Research Division in Miami. Guest speakers, including Professor T.N. Krishnamurti from the Florida State University Meteorology Department, will also meet with the visiting scientists to discuss the latest advancements in tropical cyclone modeling.

Techniques for communicating critical hazardous weather information to decision makers and the general public will also be demonstrated during visits to a local Emergency Management Agency, television station and Emergency Alert System relay station. The project is sponsored by the National Weather Service International Activities Office, with funding provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The IMD meteorologists arrived August 1 and will continue training through mid-September.