National Weather Center in Norman celebrates official opening today

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 29, 2006 by Kelley Chambers

The biggest challenge for faculty at the new National Weather Center Building at the University of Oklahoma might just be getting students off the roof when storms are approaching.

The newly constructed $69 million building, which will be dedicated today at 10:30 a.m., includes a seventh-floor observation deck with sweeping views and access to rooftop workstations.

The building is the product of a partnership between the university and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Construction began on the 244,000-square-foot building in August 2003, and it opened over the summer.

Students and NOAA weather staff have already been working and taking classes in the building for nearly two months.

The building is on the south side of the OU campus on the northeast corner of Jenkins and Highway 9, across the street from the Lloyd Noble Center.

In a prepared statement, OU President David Boren praised the collaborative effort between the university and NOAA.

"The opening of the Weather Center is an important milestone in the history of our state as we move to build a diversified economy based upon research and high technology," Boren said. "The center literally makes Norman the weather capital of the nation and establishes OU as the nation's academic leader in meteorology."

Dr. Kevin Kloesel, assistant dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, began a recent tour of the building on the roof.

The flat roof has been equipped with 20 bolted-down workstations where students are able to hook up equipment and access the Internet while out in the elements they are studying.

"For our students, the workplace is not the desk," Kloesel said.

Instead, students are encouraged to work on the roof and observation deck, alongside some of the top weather experts in the country.

Kloesel pointed out that the windowed observation deck, with sweeping views in every direction, affords a view of some storms as far south as north Texas.

He said the facility is the first in the country to offer students a complete hands-on experience with weather prediction and research.

The buildings designers also had safety in mind in the event of a severe storm. The walls are fortified with Kevlar, and all of the building's windows contain bullet-proof glass. The structure also has two large storm shelters.

It is also equipped with auxiliary power so that the systems will not go down due to a power loss.

Kloesel said that in the event of a long-term power loss, the building could remain on-line for about three days.

The building encompasses an open central sitting area on the first floor and elevators with windows and exposed cables. Glass walls throughout the building afford views of weather forecasters monitoring storms and developing new technology.

On the second floor of the building, NOAA forecasters who monitor the lower 48 contiguous states and issue watches and warnings are housed in adjoining rooms.

On one side forecasters issue storm watches that go out nationwide and in the next room the staff issue storm warnings. Both areas are staffed 24 hours a day. Among other internship opportunities in the building, students can apply to work in the watch and warning centers.

Rick Smith, warning coordinator meteorologist, said meteorologists on the warning side monitor Doppler radar and also rely on storm spotters for updates.

He said as soon as his office issues a warning it goes out to the television stations and other entities to alert the public of approaching storms.

The new building houses the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, Environmental Verification and Analysis Center, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, International Center for Natural Hazards and Disaster Research, and Center for Spatial Analysis, as well as NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory, Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Radar Operations Center and Warning Decision Training Branch.

The College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences currently reports an enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students at just over 400.

The building was designed by Beck Associates Architects and LAN/ Daly. The general contractor was the Oscar J. Boldt Co. Burns & MacDonnell Architects assisted NOAA with development and facility requirements and construction oversight.