The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) hosts an annual Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (IHC) to provide a forum for the responsible Federal agencies, together with representatives from the academic research community, industry, and other 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. This year, in lieu of the traditional IHC, the OFCM will host a forum that is focused on tropical cyclone research. The goal is to educate attendees on the status and future plans of the Nation's hurricane forecasting and warning program, particularly as they relate to tropical cyclone research programs and priorities.

Prior to the IHC, the OFCM-sponsored Working Group for Hurricane and Winter Storm Operations and Research (WG/HWSOR) will meet to review submitted action items, regarding the hurricane program to include 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.

(IHC host site NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction.)

Forum Theme, Sessions, and Other Key Events

The theme for the 67th IHC Tropical Cyclone Research Forum is “Tropical Cyclone Research: Our Vision for the Future.”

The opening session of the conference will begin Tuesday, March 5, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. The morning's agenda will include a keynote address, a panel discussion on Hurricane Sandy, and a review of the 2012 hurricane/typhoon season from both an operations and reconnaissance perspective. The following sessions will take place Tuesday afternoon through Thursday:

• Comparison of the 2010 and 2012 Snapshots of Tropical Cyclone R&D (OFCM-sponsored Working Group for Tropical Cyclone Research
  


• Workshops on Federal Numerical Modeling Initiatives
• The Navy's Model Development and Improvement Program/Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program (HFIP)
• NSF program initiatives, to include the University-based National Ensemble Program
• Earth System Predication Capability (ESPC)/Next-Generation Suite of Models


• Session on Transitioning Research to Operations
  • Joint Hurricane Testbed: Project Updates and Plans for the Future
  • Tropical Cyclone Model Development and Technology Transfer
  
  
• Session on Tropical Cyclone Operations
  • Observations and Observing Strategies for Tropical Cyclones and its Environment
  • Improvements in Tropical Cyclone Forecast and Warning Products and Services, to include storm surge and inland flooding.
  • Workshop on Social Science Applications to the Tropical Cyclone Forecast and Warning Notification Program

Other key events during the 67th IHC/Tropical Cyclone Research Forum are:

• Poster Session (Tuesday, begins at 5:30 pm)

• IHC Banquet and Hagemeyer Award Presentation (Wednesday, begins at 6:00 pm)

Thursday afternoon will be the closing Plenary Session.