AN OVERVIEW OF NWS WEATHER SUPPORT FOR THE XXVI-OLYMPIAD

The 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, received weathe r support from the National Weather Service (NWS). The mandate to prov ide this support gave the NWS an unprecedented opportunity to employ i n an operational setting several tools and practices similar to those planned for the ''modemized'' era of the NWS. The project also provide d a glimpse of technology and practices not planned for the NWS modern ization, but that might be valuable in the future. The underlying purp ose of the project was to protect the Life and property of the two mil lion spectators, athletes, volunteers, and officials visiting and/or p articipating in the games. While there is no way to accurately account for lives and property that were protected by the NWS support, the ab sence of weather-related deaths, significant injuries, and damaged pro perty during the games despite an almost daily occurrence of thunderst orms, high temperatures, and/or rain indicates that the project was a success. In fact, popular perception held that weather had no effect o n the games. The 2000+ weather bulletins issued during the 6-week supp ort period suggest otherwise. The authors describe the many facets of this demanding and successful project, with special attention given to aspects related to operational forecasting. A postproject survey comp leted by the Olympics forecasters, feedback provided by weather suppor t customers, and experiences of the management team provide the bases for project observations and recommendations for future operational fo recasting activities.