(May 1, 2012) - Up-to-the-minute weather information from emergency response meteorologists in the National Weather Service Tampa Bay forecast office is credited with saving swimmers in the 15th annual Tampa Bay Marathon swim meet. Forecasters and marathon officials were closely monitoring an approaching storm system on April 21 as dozens of swimmers competed in the 24 mile event across Tampa Bay.

Following a final weather update at 1:32 p.m., officials decided to cancel the event and bring the swimmers in.

"The office was very helpful and was a key player in our decision to cancel the marathon as the storms approached," said emergency event coordinator Marvin Siple. "The minute-by-minute information the Tampa office provided helped us scratch the event and save our swimmers".

As soon as the decision was made, search and rescue teams were dispatched from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg to help retrieve the swimmers and other marathon participants.

The emergency response team at the Tampa office had been working up to a week in advance of the marathon and the entire office staff played a role in fine-tuning impact-based services through numerous briefings, social media updates and individual updates for various partners and customers.

In addition to the normal operations of the forecast office staff, the Tampa emergency response team represents one of six pilot projects that are part of a new National Weather Service Weather-Ready Nation concept. It is designed to provide Impact-based Decision Support and other specialized services to key partners.

"It is times like these when we have an opportunity to prove our ability and provide crucial expertise. As a Weather-Ready Nation Pilot office, this opportunity translates to a leadership moment for all of us," said Brian LaMarre, meteorologist-in-charge of the Tampa Bay forecast office.

"It allows us to influence and to support our core partners and a diverse, ever-expanding customer-base. We were successful in this event by providing service in a multi-faceted approach. As seen on Saturday, lives were saved based on the information we provided to key decision makers -- and that's what it's all about."

National Weather Service Southern Region Director Bill Proenza was a key speaker today for the official launch of the Tampa Weather-Ready Nation pilot project. He noted, "The April 21 event was an excellent example of the value of special emergency response meteorologists in providing life-saving, impact-based decision support services during severe weather or other hazardous events."

---