The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) annually hosts the Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (IHC) to educate attendees on the status and future plans of the Nation’s hurricane forecasting and warning program. Additionally, the IHC provides a forum for the responsible Federal agencies, together with representatives of the user communities such as emergency management, to review the Nation's hurricane forecasting and warning program and to make recommendations on how to improve the program in the future. During the IHC, the OFCM-sponsored WG/HWSOR reviews submitted action items regarding the hurricane program, including recommended changes to the National Hurricane Operations Plan (NHOP). New approved procedures and agreements which are directly related to the provision of tropical cyclone forecasting and warning services are then documented for implementation in the NHOP, which is published annually prior to the upcoming hurricane season.

Conference Theme, Sessions, and Other Key Events

The theme for the 2012 IHC is “Tropical Cyclone Operations and Research:  Strength and Success Through Partnerships and Alliances.”

The opening session of the conference will begin Monday, March 5, 2012, at 12:30 pm. The afternoon’s agenda will include a keynote address, the introduction of the federal agency lead representatives, and a review of the 2011 hurricane/typhoon season from both an operations and reconnaissance perspective. The following sessions will take place Tuesday through Thursday:

• Observations and Observing Strategies for Tropical Cyclones and its Environment

• Tropical Cyclone Model Development and Technology Transfer (e.g., global/regional models, data assimilation, physical processes, verification and diagnostic techniques, probabilistic guidance)

• Guidance on Guidance (Real-time Forecaster Tools for Track/Intensity Forecasts)

• Advances in Storm Surge Predictions

• Other Research to Improve the Prediction of Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Structure, Track, Precipitation, Coastal and Inland Inundation

• Products, Services, and Lessons Learned during the 2011 Tropical Cyclone Season

• Optimizing Hurricane Response for Improved Stakeholder/User Reaction

• Joint Hurricane Testbed: Project Updates and Plans for the Future

Other key events during the 66th IHC are:

• Poster Session (Monday, begins at 6:30 pm)
  

• IHC Banquet and Hagemeyer Award Presentation (Wednesday, begins at 6:30 pm)