National Hurricane Operations Plan

Publisher Marketing: The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) annually hosts the Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (IHC) to provide a forum for the responsible Federal agencies, together with the user communities, such as emergency management, to review and improve the Nation's hurricane forecast and warning program. The 2014 Tropical Cyclone Research Forum (TCRF)/68th IHC was conducted 3-6 March. The forum had a large "virtual" participation with two primary locations where attendees gathered to participate-the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, College Park, MD, and the National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL. The OFCM-sponsored Working Group for Hurricane and Winter Storms Operations and Research (WG/HWSOR) met on the first day of the forum to review various action and informational items related to the hurricane program, including recommended changes to this plan, the National Hurricane Operations Plan (NHOP). The results of the meeting were presented by the WG/HWSOR chair during the forum's final plenary session. New procedures and agreements briefed at the forum were incorporated into this publication-the 52nd edition of the NHOP. This plan is published annually prior to the hurricane season and documents the interdepartmental effort to provide the United States and designated international recipients with forecasts, warnings, and assessments, concerning tropical and subtropical weather systems. The WG/HWSOR addressed 20 action items. Of those, six were closed by incorporating changes into this edition of the NHOP, two items were deferred, and four items were for. The remaining items will be worked through follow-on actions by the group. The remaining items will be worked through follow-on actions by the group.