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Public Information Statement
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
130 PM EDT Sun Oct 7 2018

To:      Subscribers:
         -NOAA Weather Wire Service
         -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
         -NOAAPORT
         Other NWS Partners and NWS Employees

From:    Michael Brennan
         Chief, Hurricane Specialist Unit, National Hurricane Center

Subject: Alerting partners to the imprecise depiction of areas
         under a storm surge watch or warning in the NWS Watch
         Warning Advisory Hazards KMZ file until further notice

This Public Information Statement is intended to alert users that
the depiction of an area under a tropical cyclone storm surge watch
or warning in the "NWS Watch Warning Advisory Hazards" Keyhole
Markup language Zipped (KMZ) file will be significantly larger than
the area intended to be under a watch or warning through the
remainder of the 2018 hurricane season. This file is available
through the NWS Geographical Information System (GIS) website:

https://www.weather.gov/gis/

at following URL:

https://www.weather.gov/source/crh/shapefiles/wwa.kmz

A storm surge watch (warning) is issued for the possibility (danger)
of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from
the shoreline somewhere within the specified area, generally within
48 (36) hours, in association with a tropical cyclone, a subtropical
cyclone or a post-tropical cyclone. Because storm surge watches and
warnings are issued on a grid rather than for entire NWS zones or
for entire counties, in order to most precisely represent areas at
risk, users are highly encouraged to use instead the Keyhole Markup
Language (KML) files available on the National Hurricane Center
website:

http://hurricanes.gov/gis

rather than the Valid Time Event Code (VTEC), to obtain the most
timely and accurate depiction of the area under a Storm Surge Watch
or Warning. This information is also available in NWS's National
Digital Forecast Database (NDFD).

Until further notice, when a storm surge watch or warning is issued
for part of an NWS zone, the entire zone will be shown as under the
respective watch or warning on the "NWS Watch Warning Advisory
Hazards" KMZ file.

Questions should be directed to:

Jessica Schauer
NWS Tropical Services Program Leader
NWS Marine, Tropical and Tsunami Services Branch
Miami, FL 33165
Telephone: 305-229-4476
Email: Tropical.Program@noaa.gov

Or

Dr. Mark DeMaria
Chief, Technology and Science Branch
National Hurricane Center
Miami, FL 33165
Telephone: 305-229-4443
Email: Mark.DeMaria@noaa.gov

National Public Information Statements are online at:

https://www.weather.gov/notification

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