Sandy Service Assessment May Become Full Federal Collaboration

By Jillian Macmath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

November 23,2012; 9:11PM,EST

"The National Weather Service is determining whether there will be a broader federal assessment of the government's preparations and response to Sandy," National Weather Service Spokeswoman Susan Buchanan said.
The Service Assessment Team that was organized to review the effort of the National Weather Service during Hurricane Sandy was disbanded Thursday after the team's first meeting.
Assessment team members, including AccuWeather's Mike Smith, were contacted via email by Douglas Young, Performance Branch Chief at NOAA, Thursday morning, informing them that "all plans and activities that have started should now cease."
The Assessment group was organized by David Caldwell, Director of the Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services at NOAA, and made public on Monday.
The group was to include experts from the private sector. No reason for the change has been announced. It is not known if the collaborative review would include experts who are not employed by the government.
"If a broader federal assessment does not move forward, the NWS will conduct an assessment of the agency's performance as it routinely does," Buchanan said.
The National Weather Service has come under criticism after deciding not to issue any hurricane advisories for Sandy north of North Carolina.
Sandy, which plowed onshore in southern New Jersey on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, around 8:00 p.m. resulted in the death of more than 110 people, and caused an estimated $30-50 billion in damage.